Pokémon Familiars
by Jamin Man
Summary: Fate decided she didn't like how her prophecy had been interpreted. As she pondered how to fix things, her old friend Arceus joined her. Together they came up with a plan that would shake the Wizarding World to its foundations. How will the addition of these strange new magical animals change Harry's future?
1. Chapter 1 - The Birthday Egg

_Fate decided she didn't like how her prophecy had been interpreted. As she pondered how to fix things, her old friend Arceus joined her. Together they came up with a plan that would shake the Wizarding World to its foundations. How will the addition of these strange new magical animals change Harry's future?_

 _This is a response to Draynuy's "The strange new magical animals" plot summary._

 _When I started this story I said I would stick with the first three generations. Now that I've played Pokémon Sun/Moon, I've decided to expand my pool of available Pokémon to all seven generations._

 _This story will be a Harry/multi fic eventually. However, the pairings won't start until at least third year._

 _There will be some slight bashing of AD/RW/MW but I don't plan to focus on it very much except maybe Dumbles (though I AM going to try to keep it to a minimal). Ginny may get some bashing at first introduction for being a fangirl, but that will end quick enough._

 _This is my first attempt at FF, so let me know what you think._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own either Pokémon or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in the sandbox that they left open._

Prologue

 **Unknown Location - Unknown Time**

Fate sighed as she looked down at her chosen one of this universe. She thought her prophecy would be a blessing, a gift, for the people of its world. Fate had believed that it would be used to give the world hope. That her chosen one would get help. That it would spur others into action. That everything would work out for the better.

It was only now, as her chosen one was laying in a basket at the doorstep to the house of his last remaining relatives, that she could see what her prophecy had really caused. Every path she saw ahead for her chosen one ended in disaster for the child. Sure, in most cases her prophecy came to pass just as she wished. However, in every single instance the child would suffer and lose many loved ones. Fate hated how things had turned out. Things would have been better if she had never let the prophecy be told.

Not even Fate had believed that the meddling old fool would take the path that he did. At the time there had only been one path that ended in this result. That amounted to a 0.01% chance of this happening. How Albus Brian Dumbledore (she was well aware how he gave himself additional middle names to seem more important), and others, had made all the exact decisions to lead to this was beyond her. Now, thanks to his meddling, it was practically guaranteed that her chosen one would never be truly happy.

" _You look troubled, old friend_."

Fate was surprised out of her musings by the voice. She turned to see a white equine-like creature with gold rings around its middle.

"Arceus!" Fate smiled in greeting. "I am glad to see you. How does the chosen one in your world fare?"

" _Ash has completed his journey._ " Arceus's smile could be heard in the telepathic voice. " _He has finally achieved his dream of becoming a Master._ "

"It does me good to hear that one of my plans has actually succeeded," Fate sighed. She had many universes to watch over. Most of the time things turned out exactly has she wanted. Others, like her current problem, didn't even come close.

" _Ah,_ " Arceus watched the scrying circle in front of Fate for a bit as it played flashes of the future for this world. " _I understand your problem now._ "

Fate turned back to the ring herself and frowned, "It doesn't matter how much I change things at this point. It seems to always end in disaster."

Arceus tilted his head at Fate. " _How did you let it get this bad? You usually head off these things before they become a problem._ "

Fate actually blushed. "I got distracted by a chosen one that was particularly stubborn. I thought I was going to have to use his son and daughter. In the end, he made the right decision and chose his son over the Dark Lord."

Arceus nodded, " _So while you averted one crises. Another was created while you weren't paying attention._ "

"Hey," Fate protested, "I may be a divine being but I'm not perfect!"

Arceus chuckled at this. " _Trust me, I know we aren't perfect._ "

Fate only nodded at that. She was well aware of Arceus's past and his encounter with his world's chosen one.

Silence fell as the two divine beings watched the scrying ring. The scenarios it showed seemed to get worse and worse. Fate started to get depressed after a while. Was there no way to change things for the better? The best, and most likely, ending so far was her chosen one growing up abused and unloved, then making only two good friends at school, falling victim to a love potion to girl that looked like his mother (this had Fate gagging in response), before being manipulated into sacrificing himself to save everyone. The boy would survive, yes, but he would never find true happiness let alone true love.

" _I… have an idea_ ," Arceus suddenly stated.

Fate's eyes snapped to the white equine. "I'm all ears at this point. Whatever idea you have can't be worse than _that_." She pointed at the ring as it showed a black haired boy being swallowed by a dragon.

" _I've always found that when plans go awry, the best thing to do is to introduce a bit of anarchy._ " Arceus lifted a golden hoof and touched the scrying ring.

Fate stared wide eyed at the images now showing in the ring.

"That… might just work," she turned to her companion and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to do this? They are your children after all."

" _If it helps this world's chosen one then yes._ " Arceus nodded slowly. " _But I think we will need to make a few alterations to how my children normally behave_."

"I agree," Fate responded. "This world has true magic which will complicate things for your children. Also, the technology isn't as advanced as your original world." Even though she was pointing out issues, Fate was practically bouncing with excitement. This had the biggest potential of anything she had tried so far.

" _We need to be careful in executing this,_ " Arceus warned, " _or we might make things worse_."

Fate actually laughed at this. "I doubt it can be worse than the path where his soul gets sucked out at 13, causing a magical backlash strong enough to destroy a major ley line. The destruction of which triggers the earth's core to implode in on itself, destroying…" She trailed off when she noticed Arceus gaping at her.

Arceus started to shake his head. " _You gave this world's chosen one enough power to destroy a ley line? What were you thinking?_ "

Fate blushed again and murmured something about being bored.

Arceus rolled his eyes, but decided not to pursue the topic. Instead he decided to take immediate action on a thought he had.

" _Mew, Celebi, Jirachi… I have a mission for you three._ "

The three in question appeared before the divine beings. The first was a pink feline that had a playful air about it. The second was a green fairy like being that seemed to make those around it at peace. The third was a small white humanoid with a gold star shaped helmet like thing on top of its head. This one looked like it just woke up from a nap.

" _What's up, pops?_ " the pink cat, Mew, asked after doing a flip in mid air.

" _I need you three to keep an eye on the young boy there_ ," Arceus indicated the scrying ring that now showed the 15 month old child wrapped in a blanket on the doorstep of his relative's house. " _Watch over him and protect him, but don't let yourselves be known quite yet. I will let you know when the time is right_."

Celebi, the green fairy, nodded in acceptance. " _We can do that, father._ "

" _Yeah, pops!_ " Mew exclaimed, " _It will be fun to have a new playmate_!"

Jirachi sighed, " _Mew did you not listen to father? He said we can't play with him yet._ "

Mew sagged a bit before brightening up a bit, " _He doesn't have to know we are there for us to have fun with him_!"

Arceus shook his head at the trio's antics. " _Just be careful you three. There is magic in this world that is capable of things beyond what a psychic can do._ "

" _Don't worry, father_ ," Jirachi said sleepily.

" _You can count on us_!" The three exclaimed in unison before disappearing.

Arceus, the God of Pokémon, sighed before turning back to his companion. Fate had stood there and watched the interaction with an amused smile.

"Was it wise to send them before we even began planning? They seem like they are just as liable to play tag with the boy as protect him." Fate inquired.

Arceus actually shrugged at this. " _I truly don't know. Those three can be quite the handful most of the time, and they usually aren't the most discreet of my children, but they are strong and reliable... And if the boy is as powerful as you claim, we need to make sure he is protected now. Who knows how long it will take us to plan things just right_."

Fate pondered this for a moment before reluctantly nodding in defeat. "Right, well let's get to it old friend."

0o00o0

Chapter 1 - The Birthday Egg

 **Hogwarts Grounds - July 30, 1991**

Hagrid was in high spirits as he made his rounds that morning. His mood was infectious apparently. Fang was bounding ahead of him with as much energy has a puppy. He adjusted the crossbow hanging at his side as he pondered the reason for his good mood.

The half giant had been surprised when Albus Dumbledore decided to join him for breakfast in his hut. This was an unusual occurrence in of itself. While Hagrid knew the Headmaster was a great man, he knew that Dumbledore was usually too busy to visit. So having the great man Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore join him for morning tea alone would make any day a fantastic day.

The feeling of it being a fantastic day was assured when Dumbledore had asked him to deliver an invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to none other than Harry Potter. Hagrid was honored that Dumbledore had entrusted this mission to him (not only that but he had been trusted to get you-know-what out of vault seven hundred thirteen). Hagrid hadn't fully understood why he was needed to take the Hogwarts letter to Harry, but he figured it was an excuse so he could show the lad around Diagon Alley and protect him at the same time.

The reason didn't really matter to him, Hagrid decided. He couldn't wait to see the little tyke again. Hagrid had known the boy's parents, and if Harry was even half as good as them then he would be a great wizard himself. It seemed fitting that he should be the one to bring the Boy-Who-Lived back into the wizarding world. After all, he was the one that delivered the boy from Godric's Hollow to his relatives all those years ago.

The Keeper of the Keys was brought out of his day dreams when Fang started to bark at something in the bushes up ahead. Hagrid moved his crossbow so it was in a ready position.

"Quiet Fang," he hissed, "You'll frighten whatever is in there."

Fang did as he was told but he still growled a bit, never taking his eyes off the bushes. Hagrid edged his way closer to Fang. He didn't want to spook whatever it was by making any sudden movements. When he got next to Fang he couldn't see any movement in the bushes, but he did see something white in them. Being very careful he parted the bushes with his bow.

Hagrid relaxed when he saw that there was only an egg. The makeshift nest appeared to be abandoned. It didn't seem like anything had disturb the area in a long time.

"Poor thing," Hagrid sighed as he slung his bow back on his back. "Wonder what happened to y'er mama." He carefully bent over and scooped up the egg.

As he examined it closer he realized he had never seen an egg quite like it before. It was about a third of a meter tall and pure white, with a couple dark blue speckles here and there.

"Hmm, what should I do with you," Hagrid pondered. The egg felt warm to the touch still and he was sure he could feel soft vibrations coming from it occasionally. Something was niggling him at the back of his brain. He thought on the sensation for a moment, trying to figure out what his brain was trying to tell him.

"I know!" Hagrid exclaimed suddenly, "It's Harry's birthday tomorrow and I don't have a gift for him yet. I bet he would love you." Hagrid nodded to himself. "I should bake 'im a cake as well. It would be rude to show up unannounced and not bring any food." Hagrid chuckled as he carefully placed the egg in one of his many jacket pockets.

Happy with his decision, Hagrid turned to finish his rounds. He was so preoccupied with his plans for baking a cake that he never noticed the pink cat and green fairy appear above the bushes he had just left. Nor did he see them high five each other before a third being appear with a shake of its head. The third grabbed the first two and started dragging them away into the sky. After all, the All-Father's plans were finally starting to come together and they had more work to do.

0o0o0

 **#4 Privet Drive - July 31, 1991**

Harry collapsed onto the bed in the smallest bedroom of his relatives home. Even though he had lived there for as long as he could remember he never once had considered the place his home. Harry smiled despite that errant thought. Today had been the best day ever, let alone the best birthday he had ever had. There had also been so many revelations that he didn't know what to make of it all. He sighed and sat up, if he was going to make heads or tails of the revelations of the day he needed to sort through the memories one by one.

As he crossed his legs and closed his eyes, he silently thanked whatever God had been watching over him when he discovered that book on Mindscapes. Not only had it improved his memory, but he found if he added defenses it reduced the number of nightmares he had (most of which involved a woman screaming and a flash of green light).

His mindscape was of Privet Drive, complete with #4 and it's well manicured lawn and gardens. Though the houses were only decoys, his memories were actually stored in the clouds above. A slight of hand he was now thankful he had thought of. It only stood to reason that if magic was real then there were people who could read minds.

When he had floated himself into the sky (there was something freeing about being in the wide open space) he immediately began to sort through the day's memories.

First there was the meeting with Hagrid. Harry snickered as he watched Dudley get his pig tail again. But sobered as Hagrid went through the story of his parents. He quickly placed the bit about his parents into his most cherished memory area. Though the few that were there paled in comparison to this. He figured when he had more time he would create an area just for memories about his parents. If what Hagrid said was true he was about to meet plenty of people who knew his parents. Hopefully he could learn more about them.

He quietly set about sorting through everything else. The trip to Gringotts seemed odd to Harry. If whatever Hagrid picked up from vault 713 was so secret then why did he do it in front of an eleven year old kid? Was Hagrid really that insane or was there something else going on? It was something to keep in mind going forward.

Then there was his trust vault, the fact that it was a trust vault indicated there was a main vault. If that was the case that made him richer than he imagined possible. After all, who let's a kid spend that kind of gold if there wasn't plenty to spare. The thought boggled his mind. He resolved to make another trip to the bank before school began to get more information.

The next interesting memory he came across was the meeting with the blond, pale boy. The boy seemed like the arrogant type of git. But there also seemed to be something off about the whole thing. He had never introduced himself. Then Harry realized that he hadn't made the best impression either. He resolved to give the boy a second chance when they met again.

Storing that away he went over the rest of the trip with relative ease. The only hiccup coming to getting his wand. He didn't know whether to count it as something happy (having proof that he was in fact a wizard) or not because of the story told by Ollivander about the brother wand. In the end he decided to split it to deal with it that way.

He froze when he came across the last memory with Hagrid. How could he have forgotten! He must have been more exhausted than he realized. He dove into the memory with Hagrid at the train station.

 _Right before they parted Hagrid pulled out something round and wrapped in brown paper._

" _Happy Birthday Harry," Hagrid said, "Something told me you were meant to have this."_

 _Harry stared wide eyed at the package and gently cradled it in his arms. He couldn't believe he had a birthday present. No one had ever given him a gift before._

" _Now be careful," Hagrid continued, not seeming to notice the tears in the boy's eyes. "It is very fragile. I would recommend waiting until you get home to open it."_

 _Harry realized it must be something unusual and needed to be opened away from people who didn't know about magic. So he nodded as he stammered out his thanks._

Harry quickly stashed the memory away into the precious area, next to the one about his parents. He decided the others could wait till he opened his present.

Harry suddenly found himself back in his room, sitting cross legged on his bed. He looked over at his desk and saw the brown package was still where he had placed when he entered his room. He got up so he could sit in the wobbly chair in front of the desk. He placed a hand on the package and felt how warm it was. The whole way to #4 it had gotten warmer and warmer. Occasionally it had shook a bit. Harry was pretty sure whatever it was it was alive.

Being extra careful, he began to unwrap the package. Harry savored every moment of this moment. He wanted to make sure he remembered this feeling. When he was finished he stared at his gift with only a bit of confusion. It was the biggest egg he had ever seen, because an egg was the only thing it _could_ be. It was as white as snow with a couple dark blue splotches. The blue was so dark it could almost be mistaken for black. He wondered what kind of animal created such an egg.

"Well," Harry said, "I can't wait to meet you, whatever you are." Harry reached out and placed his hand on the egg.

As soon as he made contact the egg began to glow a bright white. Harry jerked his hand back in surprise, afraid he had done something wrong. He watched in amazement as the egg morphed into a different shape. When the glow faded Harry stared at the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. It was a white bird that stood about 30 cm tall. Some of its feathers were tipped in the same dark blue the egg had been, giving it the same overall appearance as the egg.

"Pidgey!" The bird exclaimed as it stretched its wings before looking into his emerald green eyes with its amber colored eyes.

Harry got the sudden feeling that his future was going to be very interesting.

0o0o0

 **Park in Crawley - July 31, 1991**

Hermione Granger was startled from her reading. She blinked rapidly as she looked around to see what had interrupted her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The playground she was sitting near seemed empty. It was then that she realized that it hadn't been a noise that startled her. She looked down at the ground to see what had nudged her foot. Her eyes widen slightly at the sight of the oddest, and _largest_ , egg she had ever seen. It was mostly brown except for a fairly thick band of off-white near the middle, but it was the fact that it was about the same size as her head that had her staring. After blinking away her surprise she looked around, again, to see where it had came from.

Only then did Hermione realize how late it was. The bench she was sitting in was one of the many in the park. Normally the park would be bustling with people. Now, however, there was no one in sight. The only reason she had been able to read still was due to the street lamp right next to her bench.

"Hello?" Hermione called out, "Is anybody here? I found your egg!" When there was no response, she sighed and closed her book. It had been a long shot but she didn't know what else to do.

Hermione bit her lower lip as she contemplated what to do. After a few moments, she decided the best course of action would be to take the egg home with her tonight and bring it back tomorrow. The egg was obviously a toy of some kind, and the family that had lost it would most likely be back in the morning looking for it.

"Well, I guess you are coming home with me tonight," she told the egg as she scooped it up. As soon as she had it in her lap the egg began to glow. Hermione yelped in surprise, though she forced herself not to flinch away. Even though it had startled her she still didn't want it to fall out of her lap and get damaged, it had felt alive when she had picked it up.

Her suspicions of it being alive was proven correct as the glowing white egg reshaped itself into a small animal. It reminded her of a fox with its appearance. When the glow faded, she realized the fox like animal had the same brown coloring as the egg and cream colored mane. It had long ears and a bushy tail that was tipped with the same cream color as its mane.

"Vee Eevee," the animal squeaked out as it stretched in her lap. When the newborn looked up into her eyes, Hermione knew that cute little animal was meant for her. A smile appeared on her face as she began petting her new familiar.

0o0o0

 **Longbottom Manor Greenhouses - July 31, 1991**

Neville Longbottom sighed as he straightened up from his work. He had been so preoccupied with replanting the newest additions to the Greenhouse that he had lost track of time. Seeing that it was dark already outside he winced slightly. Gran would not be happy with him for being out so late. Deciding that the rest of his work could wait till tomorrow he stood and made his way to the sink to attempt to clean up a bit. There was no way he was going to face his Gran's wrath for tracking mud into the manor again.

A noise made the nervous boy whirl around, already flinching in anticipation of seeing his Gran there. However, she wasn't there. In fact, he was quite alone still. Neville relaxed when he realized he wasn't about to be reprimanded. Well, at least not yet. Though he realized something didn't seem right. It was a strange feeling as everything looked exactly like it had earlier. Deciding to figure out what the problem was he began walking down the aisle, back in the direction he had been working.

"Nothing seems out of place," Neville spoke aloud, "No one has wandered off. My tools are still where I left them. There are still 4 pots waiting to be plante-" He cut off as he realized something, he should only have 3 left to plant. Neville's eyes zeroed in on the intruder. What he had initially mistaken for one of his pod plants waiting to be planted was actually an egg. A rather large gray-green egg to be sure, but an egg nonetheless.

"Did Gran bring you in here?" Neville asked out loud, "No, I don't think so. Then where did you come from?" When he laid a hand on it he began glowing a bright white. The egg reshaped into a bipedal reptilian creature.

"Lar vitar tar," the green reptile said after the glow faded.

"Huh…" was all Neville was capable of saying as it looked up into his eyes.

0o0o0

 **Hogwarts Grounds - July 31, 1991**

The calm quiet that had settled across the school grounds was disrupted as four creatures stepped out of the shadows of the Forbidden Forest. The four looked at each other before nodding. Arceus, the All-Father, had given them a special mission and they were determined to fulfill it. They only hoped the the meddling old fool wouldn't dismiss them outright. In fact, it was that fear that kept them from approaching the castle immediately. Instead they decided it would be wise to wait for their other two companions. The two psychic types would better help explain the situation and their purpose.

"Viper Sev" The first hissed out.

"Noct," the second agreed.

"Arc!" the third growled out at the first two.

"Slash," the fourth sighed in exasperation.

Just then they were joined by two other shadows.

"King?" one of the newcomers asked.

"Xatu, xa," the last nodded.

The others nodded along with the Mystic Pokémon. Together the six Pokémon started to make their way to the castle.

0o00o0


	2. Chapter 2 - Pidgey, I choose you!

_AN: In this chapter I will ask you to take a small leap of faith for me as I introduce a small deus ex machina. I had a couple problems I needed to solve, and this is what I came up with. You'll see what I mean when you read it._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own either Pokémon or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in the sandbox that they left open._

Chapter 2 - Pidgey, I choose you!

 **#4 Privet Drive - July 31, 1991**

Harry blinked rapidly. _Did the bird just speak? I don't think that is normal even in the world of magic._ Which caused Harry to roll his eyes internally. Normal and him didn't get along anyway. Harry smiled as he reached out to stroke the soft feathers of the bird sitting in front of him.

"Hello, my name is Harry." He was whispering since he didn't want to wake the Dursleys.

"Pidg," the bird replied softly. It seemed to have sensed his desire to be quiet. Harry then got the strangest sensation of being hungry, but at the same time he knew he himself wasn't hungry.

"Oh!" Harry wanted to slap himself, "You are a newborn. Of course you will be hungry!. Hold on one sec girl." He wasn't sure how but he seemed to instinctively know that the freshly hatched bird was female. Harry rushed as quietly as he could to his stash he kept under a loose floorboard. He frowned when all he saw there was some bacon he had managed to sneak away from breakfast a couple days ago. The Dursleys had been monitoring him a lot closer ever since the mysterious letters started arriving, making it hard to hide away any food scraps.

 _Well, at least the letters aren't a mystery anymore._ This thought had him smiling again as he offered the bacon to the bird. Harry was pretty sure newborns needed something more nutritious, but she seemed to enjoy the bacon well enough.

"Pidgey!" She called out in appreciation when she had finished.

"Pidgey? Is that all you can say?" Harry asked her.

"Pidg pidgey," she nodded in affirmative as she stretched her wings out. Then suddenly she took flight. Harry watched in amazement as the newborn flew around his room as if it was something she had been doing for years.

 _Wow_ , Harry thought to himself, _she is an amazing flier. This room isn't very big but she is going pretty fast._ Harry watched her circle his room a couple more times before she landed on his bed.

"Pidgey," she exclaimed as she began lightly pecking at something. It seemed like she was trying to draw his attention to the object. Harry frowned as he made his way to see what it was, having been sure there was nothing there a few moments ago.

Sitting in front of the female bird was two objects. The first was what looked like a girl's compact. It was black with a green jewel in the middle of it. He ignored it for now in favor of the second object. It seemed to be a letter written on the same kind of paper he had been required to buy for school earlier in the day. _Parchment! If I didn't already suspect something Magical was up this would confirm it I suppose._ He snorted in amusement. Afterall, NORMAL birds didn't hatch by glowing and transforming from the egg.

After sitting on the bed, Harry picked up the letter and began to read.

 _Harry James Potter_

 _Congratulations on the hatching of Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. She has been waiting a long time to be able to meet you. By now she has already started the familiar bond process. All you need to do to complete the bond is to verbally accept her as your Pokémon familiar. Like any other bond, it will then take 24 hours for it to stabilize. During which you need to remain in close proximity to each other._

 _Pokémon are new to this world and you have been chosen as one of the first to receive a Pokémon familiar. Being one of the first Pokémon Trainers (a human bonded to a Pokémon), you have been provided with a Pokédex along with this letter. The Pokédex can provide you with basic info on any Pokémon seen, detailed info on Pokémon bonded to you, and can be used to contact other trainers you have met (as long as they have a Pokédex or similar device). Instructions on how to use the Pokédex will appear on the mirror the first time you use it._

 _Pidgey is just one of many different Pokémon species in the world now. Pokémon have special talents and skills that they can use to help protect their Trainers. As a trainer you can test the bond and the skills of your Pokémon by having friendly competitions against other trainers. Pokémon love to test themselves against others as well, so don't feel as if you are forcing them to fight._

 _Wizards and witches_ _may_ _form bonds with multiple Pokémon depending on their own magic. So do not worry if you are chosen by another Pokémon to bond with. You could of course seek out a Pokémon to bond with, but only your magic and the Pokémon's willingness will allow the bond to form._

 _In order to hide from non-magical humans Pokémon have the ability to transform into a coin. This Pokécoin can never be lost or stolen, it will always find its way back to its trainer. This is also handy for some of the larger Pokémon that you want to keep near._

 _Now that you are aware of the basics, we leave the rest for you to discover. Now that you are a Pokémon Trainer, it is up to you how you proceed. Will you make your Pokémon the strongest there ever was? Will your Pokémon win numerous accolades for its beauty? Or will you travel the world with your Pokémon to uncover untold mysteries?_

 _We know that you will take good care of Pidgey and any other Pokémon familiars you gain. Good Luck!_

 _ **Arceus**_ _& __**Fate**_

 _P.S. - While most Pokémon are generally named after their species (like Pidgey), you can name them whatever you want after they become bonded to you._

Harry read the letter three times before he looked up. Pidgey sat there with her head tilted as she waited for his reaction. To answer her, Harry smiled and began to speak. His words being gently guided by his own magic.

"I, Harry James Potter, accept this Pidgey as my Pokémon familiar. The skies are ours to conquer together. So Mote It Be." Harry blinked as he felt the magic wash over him making his hair stand on end. In his mind he felt the bond fully develop with Pidgey. For her part, Pidgey ruffled her feathers a bit and she looked slightly uncomfortable as the magic washed over her as well.

He reached out to pet her in reassurance. He was mildly surprised to find that he knew exactly where she liked to be scratched. _Must be part of the bond_ , he thought to himself, _I mean, I knew she didn't exactly like the feeling of the magic. Can't say I blame her, felt like being dipped in an ice bath._

"Now that that's settled," Harry said while still loving on her, "what about your name. The letter said it is normal for you to just be called Pidgey. But I don't think you are normal, you are with me after all." Harry chuckled a bit, but Pidgey seemed indifferent. "Alright, I'll call you Pidgey for now while I look for a better name." She seemed to actually shrug at his suggestion.

Harry then turned his attention to the compact, or as the letter called it the Pokédex. It was interesting to him that such a small device could do everything the letter said it could. He picked it up and examined it for a bit. There didn't seem to be a place for batteries, so it must run off of some kind of magical energy. Which made sense to him as the device was supposedly a present from Fate herself.

To keep himself from overthinking about the Pokédex, he flipped it open. He felt a very small pull on his magic, or at least that's what he assumed it was, as words started to appear on the mirror. When he finished reading, he nodded and pointed the device at Pidgey as instructed. He knew he could have just spoken her name, but he wanted to see this method first. Pidgey seemed to glow green for a split second, and even as the glow faded information began to appear on the mirror.

 _Pidgey  
The Tiny Bird Pokémon  
Female  
Level: 1  
Type: Normal/Flying  
Ability: Keen Eye  
Entry: It is docile and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back.  
Egg Move: Steel Wing  
Moves: Tackle, Steel Wing_

Harry nodded as he closed the Pokédex. "So you know Tackle and Steel Wing… can you learn other moves?" He was mostly talking to himself, so he was slightly surprised when Pidgey began nodding and verbalizing her affirmation.

"Well tomorrow we can work on that," Harry set the Pokédex on the bedside table. "Its getting late now so we should get some sleep."

As if agreeing with him, Pidgey stretched out her wings as she yawned. Harry gave her a gentle pat before rushing off to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he returned, he saw that Pidgey had settled herself on his bed near his pillow. Harry grinned as he turned off the lights and crawled into bed himself.

"Goodnight Pidgey… That reminds me, we will also come up with a name for you tomorrow," Harry said in between his own yawns.

Her response was to nuzzle into his hand he had been using to pet her head. Harry's last thought before he drifted off to sleep was of his new familiar.

0o0o0

 **#4 Privet Drive - August 1, 1991**

The morning after his birthday was one of the best Harry had ever had at Privet Drive. His relatives seemed determined to ignore him. They didn't say a word to him when he entered the kitchen to make breakfast for himself and his new familiar. Aunt Petunia did give him a strange look at the amount of food he ended up piling on his plate, but she still didn't say anything. After splitting his breakfast with Pidgey in his room, Harry started reading through his _A History of Magic_ textbook to see if he could find any good names for her.

After three hours of making suggestions to the picky bird Harry was about to give up and just call her Pidgey when he made one more suggestion. "What about Hedwig?"

The Tiny Bird Pokémon looked up at him with her amber colored eyes. She seemed to like it but wanted more information on her potential namesake. So Harry continued reading before he could summarize it for her.

"Ok. She was a witch in the medieval era." Harry said after a moment, "Her specialty was in Runes and apparently her greatest achievement was to simplify the Rune Scheme for flying brooms. The Rune Scheme that had been in use prior was very unstable and caused several deaths when the brooms would suddenly stop working mid-flight. She even received some sort of award from the ICW for it." Harry looked up from his book to see that Pidgey had never taken her eyes off of him. "So what do you think? Do you like Hedwig?"

She remained unmoving for a while before giving a nod and a cry of agreement. Harry grinned at that. "Okay, Hedwig it is then!"

After loving on the newly christened Hedwig for a few minutes, Harry decided he should spend the rest of the morning sorting through his thoughts, emotions, and memories in his mindscape. When he entered his mindscape he was surprised to see several versions of Hedwig flying around now. _Must be the familiar bond_ , he reasoned, _not only is she protecting me in physical world but it looks like she will help protect my mind as well_. This thought caused him to make a mental note that he needed to make some defenses soon. Who knew what wizards were capable of after all. His mind was the only thing that was fully his, and he would not let anyone invade it.

When it was lunch time, again his relatives ignored him as he made a couple sandwiches for himself. He also grabbed plenty of fruit to share with Hedwig. His relatives still didn't know about her, and he intended to keep her a secret as long as possible. While they ate in his room, Harry realized he should probably get her some food that was nutritious enough for a newborn bird. While she seemed to enjoy the food he had fed her so far, he had no idea if it would keep her healthy. The Pokédex was suppose to contain detailed information about his Pokémon so he resolved to see if it had any more information for him.

After the two of them had enjoyed their lunch Harry opened the Pokédex and began searching for more information on Pidgey. He found that Pidgeys were normally a brownish color. This info caused Harry to roll his eyes. He was beginning to expect that he would never be considered normal.

Unfortunately, the only dietary information the Pokédex provided was that a Pidgey's nutritional requirements were the same as any magical bird familiar. This saw him picking up his _Magical Beast and Where to Find Them_ textbook. He didn't find any information on Pokémon in this book. Which supported the letter's statement about Pokémon being new to this world. He did find a small section on familiars that had some interesting information on the bond itself that he decided he would read later. However, there was nothing about dietary needs.

"Well Hedwig," Harry said as he shut the book, "I guess tomorrow we should take a trip to Diagon Alley. I saw a pet store there that seemed to have a bunch of owls. I bet they would have what you need. Fruit will do for tonight."

"Pidgey!"

"And you can have some more bacon in the morning," Harry chuckled. Hedwig seemed like she would rather have bacon for both meals but decided she could take the compromise.

"It's a good thing I got some galleons converted into pounds yesterday. I should have enough to get us to London by bus." Harry continued to think aloud. "You'll have to change into your coin form for the trip. Non magicals can't know about you and the letter said Pokémon are new so I don't want to draw attention to us in the magical world until someone else 'discovers' Pokémon. Which also means if we are going to practice your moves, we should do so at night after everyone has gone to bed."

He looked over at Hedwig who was staring at him with her amber eyes. Harry scratched her favorite spot as he mulled things over. He wanted to do some more shopping since he would be going to Diagon Alley anyway. To make a plan on how much he could spend he needed to know how much money he had, which meant a visit to Gringotts. His mental note about checking on the status of his Trust Vault and other potential vaults came to the forefront of his thoughts. That kind of discussion sounded like he needed to schedule a meeting with someone.

He didn't know much about banks, especially wizarding banks, but he did know from the many times he had heard his uncle rant that business type people like to be notified ahead of time of meetings. Though how was he suppose to let them know he would be visiting tomorrow?

An image of Hedwig flying through the sky carrying a rolled piece of parchment in her talons flashed in Harry's mind. He knew the image had given to him by his familiar.

"You can deliver letters?" Harry asked in surprise, "I know wizards use owls for such things, but you are able to as well?" Hedwig only stared at him as if he had just insulted her intelligence. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I wasn't doubting you, I was just surprised. That's all!" Harry tried to pacify her. This seemed to work as she nipped his finger gently and _allowed_ him to continue scratching her.

"Thanks for forgiving me," Harry chuckled slightly. "I will send you with the letter, but only if you promise to be careful not to be seen by anyone other than the recipient. Good. Now I need to write that letter. Then I should take a nap since we will be up late."

"Pidgey," she agreed. Harry continued to scratch her for a couple more minutes before getting up to write that letter.

0o0o0

 **Gringotts - August 1, 1991**

Farslayer was livid as he slammed the door to his office. His main client had finally visited the bank yesterday and no one had seen fit to inform him. It wasn't until he was reviewing the account this morning where he noticed a small sum had been withdrawn from the Trust Vault that he had found out. Farslayer wasn't an idiot. He knew the old fool was aware of his yearly habit of personally inspecting the main vault on the young heir's birthday and had probably made sure the visit happened during this time frame. That still didn't excuse his fellow brethren from not informing him though. He fumed at the lost chance to evaluate the last of the Potters.

He was just about to throw away the paperwork he had prepared for the visit all summer when an owl swooped in and landed on desk. Farslayer blinked back his surprise at the appearance of the bird.

"Interesting, you're not an owl but one of those new Pokémon that others in The Nation have been talking about all day," Farslayer said in awe.

"Pidg pidgey pidg," the white bird said in response. He then noticed it was indicating a letter it had dropped on his desk. Farslayer waved his hand over the letter to check for any curses, portkeys, or anything else. He knew the wards of the bank wouldn't have let the letter in if it had, but it was better to be safe than sorry. When he was satisfied he picked up the letter and began to read. He noticed the bird Pokémon stayed on his desk watching him instead of taking back off.

As he read, Farslayer's grin slowly began to grow. When he was finished he looked up at the bird the letter had said was named Hedwig.

"Of course your master can see me tomorrow, Hedwig," Farslayer told the Pokémon. "Let me make a quick note for you to take back to him."

Farslayer quickly scrawled out a letter. It looked like he finally had a way to get around the old fool's letter redirecting wards. The wards wouldn't, and couldn't, deny the boy's own familiar. After he sealed and gave the letter to Hedwig, she bobbed her head in thanks and took off.

Farslayer leaned back in his comfy chair with the biggest grin he had had in years. He hadn't needed to verify the identity of the sender, Hedwig and the letter would never had made it to him if it had been a fake. It looked like he would get his chance to evaluated the future Lord Potter after all. Suddenly he stood and opened his office door.

"Clear my schedule for tomorrow," he barked at his secretary, "and make sure I have the latest Potter Account Inventory list on my desk first thing in the morning. Also I do not want to be disturbed for the rest of the day, I have work to tend to!" He didn't wait to hear the affirmative from his secretary, Breakneck. Instead, he closed the door to his office and made his way back to his desk.

Even though he knew it by heart, he wanted to go through the entire Potter account again. Farslayer wanted to make sure everything was absolutely perfect for the return of the Potter heir.

0o0o0

 **Diagon Alley - August 2, 1991**

Harry walked out of Gringotts in a daze. When he had written to ask for a meeting yesterday he had had no idea the can of worms he was opening. Apparently the bank had been trying to get a hold of him for years, but the ward schema of Privet Drive wouldn't allow it. His account manager, Farslayer, wouldn't tell him who had set up the wards that Harry hadn't even know were there. Harry had a feeling the goblin was testing him and wanted him to find out on his own.

The unfamiliar weight of a ring on his finger reminded him of the most important revelation of the day. As it turned out, the Potters were an old and powerful family that was known as a Most Noble and Ancient House. The Heir Potter ring symbolized him as being next in line to take the title of Lord Potter. Since there was no Lord Potter currently (he was indeed the last of the Potters) he could claim the Lordship as early as his thirteenth birthday. Normally someone had to be of age to claim a title, but there was some ancient law about allowing an heir to claim a title early in the event that there was no other direct descendant. Since there was two years until he could possibly claim the Potter Lordship he decided to worry about the implications of claiming the title later.

During the whole meeting Harry had felt like he was being evaluated. In the end he had felt as if he had passed the test. Not with flying colors necessarily, but passed nonetheless. The whole situation had unnerved him, since he had only wanted some information about his Trust Vault. Though at least now he knew he didn't have to worry about money. There was more in his Trust Vault than he could spend in a decade, and yet it refilled to full capacity every year out of the main vault. It was at that point that Harry decided to get extra money for clothes shopping, he was tired of wearing Dudley's cast offs.

"Can I see your white Pidgey?"

Harry's head jerked up at the voice. He had been walking while thinking about the meeting at Gringotts and found that he wandered into an area of Diagon Alley he hadn't been in a couple days ago. When he focused on the speaker he saw a girl with long blond hair and big grey eyes staring at him. She was about the same height as him, but since Harry knew he was short for his age that meant she must be about a year younger than him.

"Ex-excuse me?" Harry asked nervously.

"I asked if I could see your white Pidgey," the girl repeated in a dreamy voice. "I will let you see my Crumple-Horned Snorkack if you want. His name is Caspian!"

"Are you saying you have a Pokémon?" Harry didn't want to confirm or deny anything until he knew she could be trusted.

"That's what I just said silly," she giggled, "You should get that Blibbering Humdinger infestation checked out. They can cause permanent hearing damage if left unchecked."

"Uh, right," Harry didn't know what Blibbering Humdingers were but he decided to ask her later. "Sure, I will show you Hedwig. Just not out in the open. Do you know somewhere more private?"

"My father's business is just around the corner," the girl turned and started skipping away from him. She never turned around to make sure he was following.

Harry shook his head. When he caught up to the girl he realized he didn't know her name. "I'm Harry, what's your name?" He was determined to make a better impression with this girl than he did with the blond boy the other day.

"I'm Luna Lovegood," she said over her shoulder. "Some people call me Loony, you can too if you want to."

"Do you like being called Loony?" Harry asked. It sounded like the kind of nickname that Freak was for him.

"No," she answered in the same dreamy voice, "but they still call me it anyways. Here we are Harry Potter."

Harry was so busy vowing to himself to never let anyone call the girl Loony again that he missed the fact that she used his last name even though he hadn't told her it. The sign on the storefront name the business The Quibbler. It appeared to be some sort of magazine press. Luna went through the door with barely a pause, forcing Harry to quickly follow her.

"Daddy," she yelled, "I'm going to take a boy into the back room. I promise not to snog him!"

"Okay Moonbeam," a masculine voice answered from somewhere to their left. "Just be safe if you do."

"We will daddy!" Luna yelled back. She grabbed the hand of a now gob smacked Harry and drug him to a different part of the printing workshop. Harry gathered his wits in time to notice Luna closing a door behind him, they were now in a room that looked like it was decorated by Luna herself. It was mostly pink with drawings of all sorts on the walls.

"Come on out Caspian," Luna called out without preamble as she threw a coin. In mid air the coin turned into a red beam and coalesced into something that looked like a large red silk worm on the floor.

"Wurmple!" Caspian exclaimed as it stretched.

Harry got out his Pokédex to scan the second Pokémon he had ever seen.

 _Wurmple  
The Worm Pokémon  
Male  
Type: Bug  
Entry: It lives among the tall grass and in forests. It repels attacks by raising up the spikes on its rear._

Harry noted that it provided him with less information than it did with Hedwig. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that Caspian wasn't bonded with him.

"Can I see your white Pidgey now? They are very rare you know," Luna was bouncing on her heels in excitement.

"Okay," Harry said with a smile, "Let's go Hedwig!" Harry tossed her coin in the air which in turn morphed into a red beam before settling in the shape of Hedwig.

"Pidgey," she complained as she shook her head. Harry had already learned that Hedwig didn't like being a coin. She much prefered to be in the air, and Harry couldn't blame her.

Luna squealed like the little girl that she is and captured the surprised Hedwig in a hug. "Aren't you so very cute!"

To Harry's amazement Hedwig didn't seem too bothered by the affection that Luna was showing her. While she had only been his familiar for a bit more than a day he knew she didn't like being constricted like that (as evidenced by her opinion of being a coin). She was like him in that aspect.

They spent the next hour giving the two Pokémon lots of attention, which they didn't mind one bit. Luna told him how she had woken up yesterday morning with Caspian in bed with her. At first she was excited because she thought he was a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Then she had read the letter on her dresser. The letter sounded very much like the one Harry had received. When she finished her story, Harry told her his own story. When he finished Luna was looking at him oddly.

"What?" Harry asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. It's just that," Luna said with no hint of the dreaminess in her voice, "normally Professor McGonagall delivers letters to Muggle Raised children and then takes them through Diagon Alley. It's odd that it was Hagrid that showed you around instead."

Harry just shrugged. He was use to not being normal. "Well, I wanted to buy some more things so I came back to do some more shopping." Harry thought for a brief moment, he didn't need much time to consider his next question for her. "Can you come with me? I would love to spend more time with my new friend."

"Friend?" Luna looked at him with unblinking grey eyes.

"Yes, friend." Harry nodded, "Well, if you want to be my friend that is." He added a little nervously. He had never had a friend before Hedwig. So far he had enjoyed spending time with Luna, and wanted to spend more time with her.

It was a surprised Harry that suddenly found himself tackled to the floor in a fierce hug by the blonde haired girl. Harry barely heard her response as she spoke into his chest.

"I would love to be your friend Harry Potter." After hugging him for a full minute she pulled back and wiped away a tear. "Only if you're my friend too."

Harry smiled, "Of course I'll be your friend Luna."

Harry was awarded with the biggest grin he had seen on Luna yet. "Come back Caspian," Luna commanded and the Wurmple transformed into a coin that landed in Luna's outstretched hand.

Hedwig landed on his shoulder. "Sorry girl, it won't be for much longer. I promise tonight you can fly as much as you want." Hedwig eyed him critically before nodding. "Hedwig, return," Harry commanded causing her to land in his hand as a coin.

A split second later Luna was dragging him back out into the workshop. After yelling at her father that she was going out with Harry (to which he yelled back to return before dark), they were back out on the street.

Three hours later Harry was extremely glad that he had asked Luna for help. Since she had grown up as a pureblood she was familiar with the things he needed on top of the basics he had already picked up. The first thing she had him purchase was a messenger bag that was charmed to be bottomless and never weigh more than it currently did. Harry soon saw the wisdom in buying this as the purchases slowly but steadily increased. After paying for everything at each store, they would stuff the purchases into the messenger bag.

They bought books about The Mind Arts, Noble and Ancient Houses, Wizarding Society Traditions, Familiars and Familiar Bonds, and companion books for all his text books. Harry even purchased _Hogwarts, A History_ to learn more about the school he would be attending in less than a month. Their next stop was for clothes at Twilfitt and Tatting's, a more upscale wizarding clothes store than Madam Malkin's. This was by far the longest and most expensive stop. Not only did they have higher class Robes, but they also carried muggle clothing as well.

Luna insisted he get a set of Acromantula Silk robes. She said that since he was heir to a Most Noble and Ancient House he needed to dress the part occasionally. Harry had reluctantly agreed, though he silently vowed to read more about the House system in his most recently purchased books. He also purchased additional robes that were a higher quality and better cut than the standard school robes he already had. All of his new robes had the Potter crest on the left sleeve. What had Harry most excited was the purchasing of a full wardrobe of muggle clothes. Luna had given him a strange look when he made this request, but thankfully she didn't press the issue. Though she did seem to have fun using him as a life sized dress-up doll. Then they finally made it to the Magical Menagerie pet shop where he was able to buy food for Hedwig. Luna also bought some treats for Caspian.

Harry was sad when it was time to part from his new friend. Luna seemed to catch on to this.

"Don't worry Harry," she said when they were outside The Quibbler. "You can call me whenever you want." She waved her own Pokédex in the air, it was bright yellow with a navy blue gem.

Harry perked up at that reminder. He had forgotten that they could call each other since they were both Pokémon Trainers. "Count on it!" Then he started to worry again when he realized the time. "Oh no! I missed the last bus! Now how am I supposed to get back to Little Whinging?"

"Take the Knight Bus," Luna said simply. When he questioned her, she explained what the Knight Bus was and how to hail it. "Though I don't think it stops within Diagon Alley. You'll have to go back out to London to call for it."

"Thanks Luna!" Harry exclaimed, "You're the best!"

With one final hug from the blonde before she dashed inside, Harry began making his way to The Leaky Cauldron. He never noticed the figure that had been following him and his companion step out of the shadows.

"Are you watching this Pandora?" the figure said up to the heavens. "Our little girl, friends with Lily's son. Who would have guessed?"

"Are you going to keep talking to mum, or are you going to make sure Harry makes it onto the Knight Bus?" Luna's dreamy voice came from the doorway of The Quibbler.

Turning red at being caught, Xenophilius Lovegood hastily made to follow the Potter Heir. He knew his daughter wouldn't forgive him if he let something happen to her new friend.

0o0o0

 **Little Whinging Park - August 16, 1991**

"Good work Hedwig! Now use Steel Wing!" Harry pointed at a branch.

Hedwig's wings glowed a silver color in the night sky as she flew at the indicated branch. An instant later the branch had fallen to the ground. She circled the park once more before landing in front of Harry.

"You're doing really well girl. It's getting late so let's finish with your new Sand-Attack."

"Pidg," she agreed as turned back towards the tree. She flapped her wings a couple times causing a stream of conjured sand to fly at the tree.

"Looks good Hedwig," Harry nodded in approval. "You can fly a bit longer if you want. I'm going to head back now."

Hedwig nodded and took off. The only time Harry would let her fly on her own was at night. He was still worried about others finding out about her. Not even the Dursley's had discovered her existence yet.

Before he had taken more than a half dozen steps he felt his pocket begin to warm and vibrate. Harry quickly fetched the Pokédex out and opened it. Luna's face appeared an instant later.

"Hey moon girl," Harry said with a smile. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I thought I heard some Moon Frogs outside my window, but when I went to check they were just regular frogs," she replied with her usual dreamy voice. Harry wasn't fooled however.

"Well that's disappointing. But hey, doesn't your Pokémon article come out tomorrow… or is it today now? I'm not sure how late it actually is…. But anyway, that's exciting, right?" Harry was pretty sure the Moon Frogs were a cover story to call him.

"Yes, I suppose it is exciting," though she didn't seem excited. "Oh, and it is today. Well, it's always today I suppose, but I meant that the article comes out today."

"What's bothering you Luna?" Harry decided it was best to cut to the chase. Normally the blonde was very forth coming so it was odd that she was rambling now. "Are you worried about the article?"

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you found me out so easily, Harry Potter," Luna gave him a small smile that quickly disappeared. "Yes, I am a bit worried about the article. What if no one believes me about the Pokémon? What if everyone just assumes they are another one of 'those imaginary creatures'? I don't care if no one believes that Aquavirius Maggots are real or not. But Caspian is REAL, and so is Hedwig. And I know there are others out there as well. But what if people call me Loony again?" The last sentence was said barely above a whisper. She was looking away from him now but Harry could still see the tears in her eyes.

"Luna look at me," Harry said softly, but gently. He waited until she did so before continuing. "Listen very closely Luna. You. Are. Not. Loony. It doesn't matter what others think. You know Pokémon are real. Your father knows Pokémon are real. I know Pokémon are real. And there are bound to be other Trainers out there with their own Pokémon familiars. No one else matters. And I won't let anyone call you Loony again."

"Thank you Harry," she said with a small, but genuine, smile. "You're right. I've never cared about others thought about me before. It's just that… this is SO important. I don't want to mess it up."

"You won't moon girl," Harry smiled himself now. "I've already read the article. Remember? It's really good. Better than most I've read in the Daily Prophet. If people doubt the validity of it, you can always show them Caspian and I can show off Hedwig. Or you can tell them all to sod off. Personally, I prefer the second option myself."

Luna giggled for the first time since calling him. "You know just how to make me feel better. Thank you Harry."

They talked for a bit longer before Luna gave big yawn. Harry convinced her to go back to bed. She reluctantly agreed to, though she said she probably wouldn't sleep much. They made plans to meet up in the afternoon before hanging up.

Harry stood up from the bench he had sat on to talk to Luna and stretched. He realized he was tired himself. So he finally started to make his way back to #4 Privet Drive.

Through the bond he could feel Hedwig circling high in the air above him as he walked. Even though she was free to go wherever she pleased, she chose to stick close by and watch over him from above. Harry grinned at the thought of the over protective bird.

0o0o0

 **#4 Privet Drive - August 31, 1991**

"Uncle Vernon?" Harry said nervously. It was his last night with his relatives before leaving for Hogwarts. Since his first visit to Diagon Alley his uncle had not said more than two words to him.

Vernon Dursley didn't even look up from his television program. He did, however, grunt his acknowledgment that Harry had spoken.

"Umm, tomorrow I leave for school and I-" He was cut off by Vernon's rant.

"And I suppose you want a ride to wherever it is your kind does whatever it is your kind does. Sorry, no can do. Dudley's scheduled for surgery tomorrow and we don't have time to deal with your Freakish needs." Vernon released the grip on his beer can, he had inadvertently crushed it during his rant.

"Actually I don't need a ride," Harry said hurriedly, "I have found... alternate transportation. I just wanted to let you know that I was leaving tomorrow and I won't be back until next summer."

"Oh," Vernon blinked in surprise. He had expected the Freak to beg for a ride to the Train Station. Petunia had mention that was where her sister had always gone to get to her Freak school. "Alright then. Don't come back for Christmas. We are visiting my sister and she doesn't want you in her house. Not that I blame her."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry agreed, even though he had already said he wouldn't be back until the summer. With that Harry made a hasty retreat. He wasn't sure what had compelled him to talk to them. Must be some lingering hope that they would accept him.

Harry sighed as he closed the door to his room.

"Pidgey," Hedwig said as she landed on his shoulder. Harry reached up and stroked her feathers.

"Thanks girl," Harry said, "I know you want to fly tonight, but I think we should get some rest instead. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"Gey Pidgey!" She protested.

"Your Gust attack is just fine," Harry chuckled. "Caspian faints after one hit from it."

Every night Harry and Hedwig had went to the park to practice her moves. Harry had also visited with Luna at least three times a week since they met. Most of the time they would hang out and talk as they walked up and down Diagon Alley. Amazingly not many had noticed that the Boy-Who-Lived was walking amongst them so frequently. It was a fact that Harry was grateful for. Occasionally they would stay in the back room of The Quibbler and test their Pokémon's skills against each other.

It quickly became clear that Harry spent more time training Hedwig to fight than Luna did with Caspian. That is not to say that the Bug Type Pokémon didn't put up a good fight. Caspian had an inherent disadvantage to the Flying Type though. And now that Hedwig had finally learned Gust, it was no contest. So Harry had recently limited Hedwig to Tackle and Sand-attack during their mock battles.

"Pidgey," Hedwig proudly puffed up her feathers at that. Harry just rolled his eyes in response.

"Come on Hedwig," Harry continued, "Luna's father is picking us up before breakfast so we can spend some time with Luna and Caspian before heading to Platform 9 ¾ at Ten o'clock."

That was the other thing about his visits with Luna. Harry had gotten to know her father as well. Xeno Lovegood was a bit goofy at times but he was everything Harry dreamed a father figure should be. It was obvious that the father loved his daughter, and was protective of her as well. Harry had realized after a vew visits that Xeno may let Luna go with him out into the alley, but they were never alone as he was always nearby.

Xeno had been interested to learn more about Harry. The man seemed to sense that Harry didn't really want to speak about his past though so he wasn't overly intrusive. Harry was grateful to him for not prying too much.

The only sad thing about the next day was that Luna would not be joining him at Hogwarts. The blonde girl didn't turn eleven until February, so she had to wait until next year to attend Hogwarts. He only hoped that he could make some friends this year. Maybe he could meet other Trainers and their Pokémon. Harry didn't know how many people had Pokémon familiars already, but he did know Luna had been in contact with a few fellow Trainers. Several people had written letters to Luna after her Pokémon article came out in The Quibbler. Harry was grateful that most of them had been positive. Only a few had accused her of making up more imaginary animals.

The article was also why they would be at the Platform an hour early. Luna had set up a meeting with two other Trainers that were starting Hogwarts that year. Harry suspected this was the quirky blonde's way of helping him get a head start on making friends. His first friend was well aware that she was the only friend that he had ever had. A smile spread across his face as he finished his nightly pre-bed ritual and crawled into bed.

"Goodnight Hedwig," Harry said as the Tiny Bird Pokémon settled in by his side. Harry rolled over onto his side so he could pet her as he fell asleep. "Tomorrow is the start of a brand new adventure!"

0o00o0

 _AN: So here we see the introduction of Luna and Caspian, her Crumple-Horned Snorkack… erm I mean Wurmple. I know I breezed through Diagon Alley shopping, that was on purpose. Personally I'm tired of reading detailed accounts of Harry going shopping to get himself decent clothes etc. So I really didn't want to write it in too much detail in my story._

 _The "Pokécoin" and Pokédex were my deus ex machina. Since technology is less advanced in the HP universe than in the Pokémon universe, I needed a replacement for Pokéballs. I also didn't want to wait for someone to invent them. Then there was also the problem of how do the characters learn more about their Pokémon's moves and abilities, and Pokémon in general. Which was solved by the Pokédex being given to the "first" Pokémon Trainers. I didn't want the focus of this story to be "What are these creatures?" instead I wanted it to be about how their help would affect the universe. Thus the Pokédex magically appears!_

 _Hope this doesn't deter too many people._


	3. Chapter 3 - The Journey on the Train

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own either Pokémon or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in the sandbox that they left open._

Chapter 3 - The Journey on the Train

 **Cafe on Platform 9 ¾ - September 1, 1991**

"You look like you are infested with Blibbering Humdingers."

"What? No, I'm not… At least I don't think I am... I'm just nervous."

"Oh… well don't be."

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Why should you be?"

"I umm… I just am."

"Must be one awful Blibbering Humdinger infestation. Did you know..."

Harry sighed and shook his head as Luna went on to explain all about Blibbering Humdingers. He knew that the little blonde was trying to get him to relax by talking about her made up creatures. Despite knowing this, he did feel a bit more at ease as Luna continued to talk. Apparently the Blibbering Humdinger can cause people to feel confused, nervous, or awkward.

They were currently sitting at the outdoor cafe on Platform 9 ¾ waiting on their two guests. Harry's trunk was already on the Hogwarts Express, the only other students there at this point were the Head Boy and Head Girl, along with some upper year prefects. Xeno had seen someone he knew almost as soon as they got there and was sitting a few tables away with them. Hedwig was stretching her wings in the air somewhere at the moment while Caspian was in his normal spot on top of Luna's head. The Worm Pokémon enjoyed riding around at the higher elevation, and Luna seemed more than happy to let him perch there.

"What if they don't like me?" Harry suddenly interrupted Luna's account of trying to catch a Blibbering Humdinger.

"Why wouldn't they like you Harry?" Luna asked as if she hadn't just been interrupted mid story.

Harry frowned in thought. "I don't know. I've never made friends before." Seeing that she was about to protest, Harry chuckled. "You don't count. You practically demanded to see Hedwig and then threw yourself at me when I asked if you wanted to be my friend."

Harry grinned at the slight blush on the young girl's cheeks. It was probably the first time he had ever seen Luna blush. "Well yes, I suppose that was not a typical way to make a friend." Then she tilted her head slightly, Caspian never budged from his perch. "Would you prefer I be more normal?"

"I would prefer you to be yourself," Harry easily dodged the trap. Then something else bothered him. "By the way, how DID you know about Hedwig. You obviously knew I had a Pokémon. Not only that but you knew that I had a white Pidgey specifically."

"The Nargles told me of course," Luna answered with more than a hint of dreaminess in her voice. "But you are changing the subject Harry Potter. Why do you think they wouldn't like you?"

Harry knew she was hiding something from him. He decided not to push it though in favor of answering her question. Now that she had that determined gleam in her eye Harry knew he wouldn't be able to avoid answering the question.

"Like I said, I don't know," he finally said with a shrug. "I guess I'm worried that I won't live up to their expectations as this supposed hero. I mean, I hardly know anything about magic and the wizarding world."

"Didn't you read that book I had you buy?" Luna asked, "You know, the one about Wizarding Traditions and Customs. You should know all about our world by now."

It was Harry's turn to blush. "I, umm, skimmed it." Harry raised his hands in defense, "Hey, It's a boring book. And I was busy training Hedwig and reading some of the other books when I wasn't with you. I decided I could read that one and the one about the Houses later when I had more time."

"Well in any case," Luna said with a sigh. "Don't worry about all that Boy-Who-Lived stuff. That isn't you. The B.W.L. tamed a dragon at age five, killed a coven of vampires at 7, and discovered the location of Avalon at 9. You are Harry, Hedwig's Pokémon Trainer and my best friend. You don't need to be anyone else."

Harry's mouth opened and closed several times at that, but was unable to form any sound. Thankfully he was rescued by the approach of an elderly woman and a boy that seemed to be Harry's age. The boy was carrying a trunk that looked like it should be a lot heavier. Harry supposed it was magicked to be lighter than it was.

"Madam Longbottom! How nice to see you again," Xeno grabbed the lady's offered hand and kissed it.

Harry blinked in surprise. _How did he move so quick? One minute he was a couple tables over, the next he is kissing that woman's hand…. Magic?_ Harry mentally shook himself out of his shock. He really should be use to Xeno by now.

"You too, Mr. Lovegood." Madam Longbottom replied very prim and proper. "How have you been this past year?"

"There have been good days and there have been bad days," Xeno shrugged at the disguised question of how they were doing since Luna's mother passed away. "And some days have even been both."

Madam Longbottom nodded in response. She understood what it was like to lose a loved one. "So is Luna going to Hogwarts this year too? I thought she was a year younger than Neville."

"Oh no," Xeno replied. "We are just dropping off her friend. I'm afraid she is stuck at home with me for another year."

Madam Longbottom narrowed her eyes at Harry when Xeno mentioned him. Thankfully, she didn't ask anything further. But when she looked at Luna, her eyes widened in shock. Harry assumed it was due to the presence of Caspian on Luna's head. "And how are you Luna dear? I hope your father has been feeding you properly." Apparently she decided not to ask about the Worm Pokémon.

"I am doing well, Madam Longbottom," Luna replied as dreamily as ever, "Actually daddy has been tracking down a pack of Heliopaths lately, and if I didn't make dinner he wouldn't remember to eat himself." Luna casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Madam Longbottom turned to glare at Xeno, who suddenly looked very pale. "Well, go on Neville," the elderly lady patted the boy on the shoulder. "You were the one who asked to be here so early so you could meet with Ms. Lovegood. I'll just be with Xeno over there, we need to have a little chat." Madam Longbottom strolled away to a separate table with Xeno following reluctantly. He looked like he would rather stay with the kids than get scolded by the Lady Longbottom.

The boy, Neville, stood there awkwardly after his grandmother had walked away. Harry smiled to himself. He made a mental bet that Luna would bring up Blibbering Humdingers within two sentences, before introducing Harry to him even.

"Hello Luna," Neville said with a small smile. Harry was impressed that he managed to speak at all. He looked more nervous than he himself felt.

"Hi Neville!" Luna said, "I see you still suffer from the Blibbering Humdingers. My father can look at that for you if you want. Oh and this is Harry Potter."

Harry grinned as he mentally exchanged money with himself. He was getting better at understanding his friend's antics.

Neville looked at Luna in confusion at the Blibbering Humdingers comment. But his attention immediately switched to Harry at his introduction.

"Harry Potter? It's a pleasure to meet you Heir Potter." Neville bowed his head.

Harry looked over at Luna and rolled his eyes. She giggled at him silently. "It is nice to meet you as well Heir Longbottom," Harry extended his hand. "But please call me Harry."

He had told Luna he hadn't read the House system book. While it was mostly true, he had read the introduction that listed families and their status. So he knew that the Longbottoms were considered a Most Ancient House, so therefore they held similar, but lesser, titles as himself. He had also noticed that Neville wore an Heir ring that looked similar in style to his own.

Neville straightened up and blinked in surprise. "Um, o-ok… Harry. And I'm Neville." The pudgy looking boy took Harry's hand and shook it. Harry could feel how nervous Neville was by how lightly he held his hand.

"So, Luna said you had a Pokémon familiar like us. Care to show us?" Harry asked. Not only was he trying to make Neville feel more comfortable, but he was also honestly curious. The only Pokémon he had seen other than Caspian and Hedwig had been some wild Rattata and Zigzagoon in Diagon Alley. But they tended to keep away from people.

Neville's face brightened considerably. "Yeah! Trev is a Larvitar. He is really awesome, though he tends to eat the soil for my greenhouse. But I have plenty so it's not a big deal." Neville reached into his pocket and pulled out Trev's Pokécoin. "Go, Trev!" The resulting redbeam manifested into a green reptile looking creature that stood on its hind legs.

"Lar… vitar," Trev said while yawning.

Caspian perked up for the first time since they arrived and hopped down off Luna's head. The Worm Pokémon scooted up next to Trev and sniffed him. "Wurmple!" He said in greeting.

While the Pokémon got acquainted with each other Harry pulled out his Pokédex and scanned Trev.

 _Larvitar_

 _The Rock Skin Pokémon_

 _Male_

 _Type: Rock/Ground_

 _Entry: A Pokémon that eats soil. Once it has eaten a large mountain, it goes to sleep so it can grow._

Harry looked up to see that Neville had also scanned Caspian. "That's cool Neville. I guess I should introduce Hedwig as well."

However, before he could focus on the bond to call her, there was a cough from the side that got his attention. While the three had been focused on the Pokémon they had not noticed a fourth had walked up and stand a bit away. Harry looked around and saw a blonde headed girl with bright blue eyes. Even though her hair color was similar to Luna's, this girl's hair was pin straight and reached the middle of her back, while Luna's was stringy and tended to go in all sorts of directions. She was also already in her school robes.

Before Harry could say anything to the new girl, Luna beat him to it.

"Daphne! I'm glad you made it!" She said as she walked over and hugged the girl.

Harry saw her stiffen slightly, very much like he usually did when he wasn't expecting one of Luna's hugs. Though she did hesitantly reach around and pat the excited blonde's back.

"I'm here just like I informed you I would be Ms. Lovegood," Daphne said with what sounded like forced formality. "I'm sorry to say that Lord Greengrass had business to attend to, so he could not stay to greet your father."

"It's okay that your daddy is a party pooper, Daphne," Luna said, completely ignoring the other's formality. "You remember Neville right? He's who I usually hang out with at the Christmas Parties when you are taking care of Stori." Luna indicated the pudgy boy.

"It's nice to see you again, Heiress Greengrass," Neville said with a slight bow. The nervousness was back in his voice.

"And you too, Heir Longbottom," Daphne responded with a stiff nod. Then she turned her calculating gaze on to Harry.

"And this is Harry Potter, my best friend," Luna continued, completely ignoring their formal greeting.

"It is an honor to meet you, Heiress Greengrass," Harry said with a slight bow of his head, ignoring the girl's suddenly wide eyes. The Greengrass family were a Noble and Ancient House so he wasn't sure what the proper protocol was for greeting someone who was almost the same level as himself.

"The honor is mine, Heir Potter," she recovered from her shock quick enough and held out her hand to him.

Harry was pretty sure she meant for him to shake it but instead he took it and kissed the back of her hand. He wasn't sure if it was necessarily proper, but he had seen the action on a muggle movie and thought it appropriate here. "Please, call me Harry," He gave her his best smile.

"Then you can call me Daphne," she said with a slight blush at his action. She turned to the Longbottom Heir, "That goes for you as well. I have a feeling we will be seeing more of each other." Her emotionless mask was back in place now that she was recovered from blushing.

"Okay, I-I'm Neville then," he said with only a slight stutter.

Daphne responded with a nod before turning back to Luna. "Best friend?" She said with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you were close with the youngest Weasley."

"Well," Luna shuffled her feet a bit, "I like Ginny and all, but she only comes over when her father makes her. But Harry actually likes hanging out with me, he doesn't call me Loony like she does either."

Harry scowled at the mention of her nickname. He saw Daphne glance at him with a hint of approval in her eye. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Harry instantly knew that Daphne had never called her Loony. In fact she seemed to be as displeased about it as he was. Then her mask was back just as quick as it had slipped. This caused Harry to wonder why she did so.

 _It could be her way of dealing with her nervousness. After all, her father just dropped her off and didn't even make sure she made it onto the train. There's gotta be something else there as well._ Harry, in the end, decided it was not any of his business. He didn't like others prying into his life, so he resolved not to inquire about hers.

"So, I was just about to call Hedwig, she's a Pidgey. Would you like to meet her as well?" Harry asked to try and change the subject.

Daphne shrugged, "Sure, that's why we are here right?"

Harry swore he saw the barest hint of a smile from her at his not so subtle attempt of changing the topic from Luna's supposed friend. Instead of dwelling on it though, he focused on the familiar bond with Hedwig. The task had become so second nature to him that he didn't even need to close his eyes anymore. Moments later, Harry felt a rush of wind near his head as a weight settled onto his shoulder.

Daphne gasped when she saw Hedwig for the first time, "She is gorgeous. May I?" She asked as she reached a hand out to the white Pidgey.

"You can try," Harry replied with a half shrug. "She is very picky though, so she might not let…" He trailed off as Pidgey hopped off his shoulder and onto Daphne's arm. The emotionless mask was replaced by a smile as she stroked Hedwig's feathers. "...you touch her." He finished lamely.

"Pid...gey…" Hedwig cooed as she luxuriated in Daphne's attention. Harry could only stare at his familiar. After Luna's initial hug, it had taken a week for Hedwig to let the blonde touch her again.

"Traitor," Harry muttered good naturedly. He saw that the other two Pokémon were now at Daphne's feet. They seemed drawn to her as well. "Let the others have some attention too Hedwig."

"Pidgey," she protested. Though she did take off gently from Daphne's arm to make another circle around the train station. People were starting to gather on the Platform now, so she drew some attention. There were several that seemed to recognize her from the article in The Quibbler. By time she landed on Harry's shoulder again, Daphne had knelt down to pet the other two.

"That's Trev, he is Neville's Larvitar." Luna was saying now, "And this is Caspian, my Crumple-Horned Snorkack!"

This caused Daphne's head to jerk up to stare at the younger blonde. Though before she could say anything, Caspian seemed to physically sigh at the declaration, "Wurmple wurm wurm wurmple!"

Harry knew that the pair had made a game out of this. So he chuckled as the two mock argued.

"What about your familiar?" Harry said, drawing Daphne's attention away from the entertaining argument. "Luna said that you were a Trainer as well."

This saw Harry graced with a smile from the blonde. "Yeah, thats right," she said as she stood back up. As she unclipped something from her bracelet she said, "Come on out Scylla!" A fourth Pokémon now appeared in her arms. Harry caught a flash of blue before his vision was blocked by Luna.

"OH! Isn't she the cutest!" Luna's squeal made Harry cringe slightly. This was worse than when Luna had met Hedwig.

Harry looked over at Neville, "I think we've lost her."

Neville nodded gravely, "I believe you are right. We might as well say our goodbyes."

Harry grinned, he hadn't expected the boy to play along with him. It seemed like he was more comfortable now with their familiars out. "You're right. It's a sad day when your best friend ignores you for someone else's familiar."

"Don't be so over dramatic, Harry," Luna said as she turned back to the boys, holding what looked like a blue sea horse.

"Horsea," it called out her agreement.

Harry scanned the small blue Pokémon with his Pokédex.

 _Horsea_

 _The Dragon Pokémon_

 _Female_

 _Type: Water_

 _Entry: It makes its nest in the shade of corals. If it senses danger, it spits murky ink and flees._

Harry looked up at Daphne, who was shaking her head at Luna for taking her familiar out of her arms. Though Harry could see she was still smiling slightly, so she couldn't be too upset with Luna. He laughed at his friends antics as she started to spin around with the Horsea in her arms, exclaiming how cute Scylla was.

It looked like his fears about having trouble making friends were unfounded. Neville's initial nervousness seemed to have dissolved away since Trev made his appearance. Now that Scylla was out, Daphne seemed to be relaxing too. She hadn't worn her expressionless mask since Hedwig showed up. Harry was thankful that Luna had set this up for him, and he was going to miss her while he was at Hogwarts.

0o0o0

 **Opposite end of Platform 9 ¾ - September 1, 1991**

The laughter near the cafe brought a scowl to his face. He had seen the four children earlier with those _things_. It didn't matter what that rag masquerading as a periodical said. Those creatures were abominations that shouldn't exist. No one had even heard of the things until a month ago when his contacts started reporting sightings of them. At first he had dismissed the reports as drunken escapades gone wrong. But more reports kept coming. And then The Quibbler had released information about these things. It had called them a special kind of familiars. The animals didn't deserve that kind of respect in his opinion.

"Have you heard a word I've said dear?" A feminine voice asked to bring him out of his musings.

"Sorry," he apologized, "You know I don't like being amongst the… _populace_."

"Get over it dear," his wife admonished, "It's not every day our son goes off to Hogwarts for the first time."

"You are right as always," he said as he forced a smile on his face. He silently vowed that she would pay for that back in the privacy of their home. He would show the woman who was in charge. "This is a big day for our Little Dragon."

"Faaather!" his son moaned quietly, "Don't call me that in public!"

This brought a smile to his lips. The boy knew enough to keep his protests from being overheard, more than he could say about his wife. "Come here son and give me a hug." He knelt down so he could be at eye level with the boy.

While he embraced his son, he quietly whispered in his ear, "Remember, Potter is starting this year as well. While I don't expect you to make friends with him right away, you must gain his trust. Am I understood?"

"Yes, father," his son replied just as quietly.

With that he released his son, who turned to his mother to receive one from her.

"I will miss you so much, my son," she said loud enough for him to overhear. "Write us as soon as you get sorted and settled into your dorm. Your Godfather has promised to help you if you need it as well."

"I'll miss you too mother," his son replied with more emotion than was necessary. He would need to talk to his son about that some more during the holidays. The boy needed to work on his Occlumency some more… maybe the boy's Godfather could help with that too. It wouldn't do for his Heir to be so emotional.

He then watched as his son stepped onto the train, his featherlight charmed trunk in tow. He saw two other larger boys follow his son immediately onto the train. _Well at least he will have a couple followers to start his power base with. He better be happy I paid for even that much._

"Will he be alright?" his wife asked him.

"I'm sure he will be just fine, Cisssa," Lucius replied. "Draco is strong, like a proper Malfoy." He reached over and grabbed her arm, tightly. "Speaking of, let's return to the manor. I have some things I wish to discuss with you."

She hid her wince well, but he still felt it. "Yes, my Lord," was her only response as they turned to head back to the apparition point.

0o0o0

 **Hogwarts Express - September 1, 1991**

Harry was still staring out the window as they passed through a forest. Luna had been very clingy in the last few minutes before the train departed. Which made it even harder for him. He knew he could call her anytime he wanted, including right then, but it wasn't the same as being there in person.

"So, how exactly did the Boy-Who-Lived become best friends with the daughter of the editor of The Quibbler?" Daphne asked. She was holding Scylla in her lap while the little blue Pokémon napped.

"First off, I'm just Harry," he rolled his eyes at her, "All that this Boy-Who-Lived stuff means to me is that my parents didn't survive."

Daphne looked suitably shame faced at that. Neville too seemed to frown in thought.

"I'm sorry Harry," she said. "I didn't think about it that way. If it matters, I don't buy into the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing. I was just saying it as a joke. I won't make that mistake again."

Harry managed a smile at that. "It's okay, Daphne. I forgive you," he then sighed as he leaned back in his seat. "As for Luna… I only met her a month ago." He then proceeded to tell his story about meeting Luna that day in Diagon Alley.

"Ever since then I've been taking the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley several times a week to meet up with her," Harry finished.

"I'm glad you made friends with her," Neville said. "I've always tried. But all she talked about were Nargles, Blibbering Humdingers, and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. I couldn't understand half of what she said."

Daphne nodded in agreement. "I had better luck, but I could only talk to her during Lord Greengrass's Christmas Parties. The Lovegood's are allies with my family, but Lord Greengrass doesn't exactly approve of Luna's father and his eccentricities. So he didn't allow me to communicate with Luna but very seldom. I actually had to sneak my letter to her about wanting to meet up today."

Harry smiled, "I'm glad you guys tried. Luna is… special. But I think that is why we get along so well."

They made small talk as they got to know one another. Neville and Daphne knew each other since they both grew up in Pureblood households. However they had never spent much time together. Harry was interested to know more about what it was like growing up with magic. Interestingly, it was Neville that was the most talkative of the three.

Scylla had just woken up from her nap and had hopped onto the floor with Trev when their compartment door opened. Standing there was a red haired boy that looked their age. Harry recognized him as part of the large family that had rushed onto the platform at the last minute.

"Anyone sitting-" he stopped mid sentence as his eyes landed on the Pokémon. "What are those _things_?"

Harry frowned at the boy's tone of voice. However, maybe it was just surprise at having never seen a Pokémon. "They aren't things. They are our familiars," Harry said as Hedwig landed on his leg. He could feel through the bond that she didn't like the newcomer.

"Right, anyway..." the boy turned to Harry and met his eyes. "Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full."

Harry felt a strange desire to be friends with boy. It really wasn't all that strange since he didn't have many friends. He could forgive the boy for being rude about their familiars. He was about the nod his acceptance when Hedwig let out a squawk, causing Harry to break eye contact with the boy and look at his familiar. Hedwig was staring up at him with her large amber eyes, he felt something snap in his mind and the strong desire to be the boy's friend vanished.

"Really?" he heard Daphne say, "When we boarded right before the train took off there was plenty of empty seats near the back of the train."

"I wasn't talking to you," the boy said with a slight sneer. "I was asking him."

"Don't talk to Daphne that way," Harry replied coldly as he looked back up at the boy. "She's my friend. And she happens to be right. There were plenty of open seats elsewhere just a few moments ago when I visited the lavatory."

"But we are suppose to be friends, he said all I had to do was ask to sit with you," the boy said.

Neville tilted his head to the side. "Who told you that Weasley?" He asked. Obviously Neville knew the redhead. Harry thought the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"D-doesn't matter squib," Weasley responded. "I am suppose to be friends with Harry Potter."

"I think you should leave," Harry said. "All you have done so far is insult my friends. Why would I want a friend that looks down on my other friends? Plus how did you know who I was?"

The boys cheeks turned as red as his hair. "You're the Boy-Who-Lived, of course I know you are. I'm Ron Weasley and my family have been staunch supporters of the light for years. So of course we should be friends."

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. But it was Daphne who responded.

"I think I understand," she said with an emotionless voice. Her mask firmly in place. "You think you can be friends with the famous Boy-Who-Lived because your family is part of the Light alliance and because someone told you that you would be. You're a glory hound aren't you? You just want to share in the lime light of being near the person who defeated the Dark Lord."

"That's not… I mean I am not… It's just that…" The red head stammered out. Then looked Harry in the eyes again. "Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full."

This time Harry recognized the foreign presence in his mind. He was easily able to eject it as it wasn't very strong.

"No," Harry said forcefully. "Now leave before I have Hedwig use her Sand-attack."

The Weasley boy paled but hurried away nonetheless. Harry got up and closed the door to their compartment. When he sat back down he told the others about his mental intrusion. When he finished, Neville looked thoughtful and Daphne looked murderous.

"That little shite!" Daphne exclaimed, surprising the two boys. "How dare he try to use a compulsion on you! I should show him the spell my mother taught me."

"Easy Daphne," Neville said, even though he was wide eyed at her outburst. "I don't think he was actually casting the charm. Remember what he said? Someone told him to ask Harry to sit with him. He even repeated his words about everywhere being full after we told him that wasn't true."

"That's right," Harry said, "I'm just glad Hedwig is also present in my Mindscape. If she hadn't been there I don't think I would have recognized what was going on the first time."

"I thought you said you were raised by muggles?" Daphne looked at him, "How do you have a Mindscape? Even if Luna taught you, it shouldn't be very well developed after only a month."

So Harry told them about finding a book on Mindscapes when he was seven and started using it. Daphne looked speechless so it was up to Neville to respond this time.

"That book," he said slowly. "It sounds like a Wizarding book. How did it end up in a muggle library?"

"No idea," Harry shrugged. "It wasn't part of the Library's records so the Librarian let me keep it. Luna had me buy a couple Mind Arts books when we went shopping and I've been using those to improve my Mindscape."

"Wow," Daphne said. "I've been studying Occlumency for the past year. I've got the basics down but I don't have a full Mindscape yet."

"Gran started teaching me Occlumency last year as well," Neville blushed slightly. "I'm not very good at it though."

"I can help you guys if you want," Harry offered. "I don't know if I can actually make a difference, but I am willing to give it a shot."

Daphne only nodded with a small smile, while Neville gushed his thanks. The intrusion of the red headed boy was quickly forgotten as they fell back into their earlier conversation.

0o0o0

Some time after the lunch trolley came and left, they were interrupted again. This time by a small brown fox creature bounding into their compartment. The door having been left open after the trolley had left.

"Vee Eevee!" it said as it bounced over to where Trev and Scylla were. Hedwig was perched on the edge of the seat just above them.

"Why hello," Harry said as he grabbed his Pokédex, "who might you be?"

 _Eevee_

 _The Evolution Pokémon_

 _Female_

 _Type: Normal_

 _Entry: A rare Pokémon that adapts to harsh environments by taking on different evolutionary forms._

"Eevee, huh?" Harry asked as he bent over to pick up the errant Pokémon. "I bet someone is looking for you." She curled up in his lap and batted at his hands like they were playing some game.

"I'll go see if-" Daphne began but was cut off as someone appeared at their compartment door.

"Lola! There you are!" The bushy brown haired girl exclaimed. "You scared me!" She then seemed to realize she was in a compartment with three others and their Pokémon. Her own familiar was curled up in the raven haired boy's lap playing with his hands. "Oh, I'm so very sorry if Lola disturbed you. She is quite excited to finally be around other people."

"It's no problem really," Harry replied. "By the way, I'm Harry and they are Daphne and Neville." Then he pointed at their Pokémon in turn, "And they are Hedwig, Scylla, and Trev."

"I'm Hermione," she said with a smile. "Do you mind if I join you? A redheaded boy invaded the compartment I was in and began eating this awful smelling sandwich, muttering something about a Potter. And besides, Lola seems to like you."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the mention of Weasley and glanced at the other two. They seemed annoyed as well. Hermione misinterpreted their looks as a rejection. "If you don't want me to, I understand. I'll just grab-" Harry hurriedly cut her off.

"No, it's okay Hermione," Harry patted the open seat next to him, "You can sit with us. We were curious about something else you said."

Hermione's face lit up at that. "Thank you!" She hurriedly sat down making Harry think she didn't want them to change their minds. She reached over and scooped up her familiar to place in her own lap. Lola continued her game the entire time. "It really is nice to meet other Trainers. The letter said there were others but I hadn't met any yet."

"So you got a letter as well?" Harry asked and she nodded. "On the night of July 31st or morning of August 1st?"

"I think it was still July 31," she blushed at the quizzical looks from the others. "I was reading and lost track of time. Next thing I know there was this egg at my feet, which turned into Lola here. It wasn't until I got back to my room that I saw the letter and Pokédex."

"I wonder if everyone who gets a Pokémon familiar will get the letter or just those of us that received ours during that night," Harry mused aloud as Hedwig hopped onto his leg. He absently began to scratch her favorite spot. She seemed to approve of this new comer, so he relaxed a bit.

Hermione looked at Daphne at the point. "Scylla? Greek mythology?"

Daphne smiled again, "Yes. I love reading about the Greek Gods." The two girls settled into a discussion about ancient history.

Later they learned that Hermione was the first witch born in her family. This conversation led to Daphne and Neville telling them about the prejudice of most pure blooded wizards.

"Not all pure bloods are like that though," Neville quickly reassured them. "Daphne's family is the head of the Gray Alliance, while they are very conservative they don't think muggleborns are beneath them. And my family has been part of the Light Alliance for generations, and have been allies with the Potters for even longer."

"Really? I didn't know that," Harry contemplated for a moment. "I think we should continue that alliance Neville."

This made Neville smile. "I would like that. Though we will have to wait until we are both Lords to officially renew the alliance."

Hermione injected herself into the conversation at this point. "Wait you're _THE_ Harry Potter? I read all about you in _Modern Magical History_ -"

"And _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and I believe I am also in _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_ , right?" Harry waited for her nod, "Do you know what's missing from those books? Not one of them mentions my parents dieing to protect me."

Hermione's eyes went wide as she realized how that night affected the boy in front of her. "I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't even think, I just-"

"It's okay Hermione, at least you don't seem like a glory hound like some others I've met already" Harry nodded his acceptance of her apology. Then he turned back to Neville, "In the meantime I think we can keep the alliance going unofficially by being friends."

"Does that mean we are all part of this unofficial alliance?" Daphne asked in amusement.

"Sure, why not," Harry said with a laugh. "We could start our own alliance. The Pokémon Alliance!"

After the laughter died down from that comment Hermione turn to Harry with a thoughtful look. "What is all this about Lords and Alliances really about? It sounds like the stuff of medieval times."

"That's because it kind of is," Neville answered. "Wizards and witches live a long time so a lot of our customs and traditions date back to then."

"I have a book you can read if you want," Harry stood and grabbed his messenger bag off the rack. Hermione looked over his shoulder as he started searching for it.

"Wow! That bag is amazing," Hermione then gasped. "You have _Hogwarts, A History_ too! I've read it about a dozen times!" Harry could see her love of books clearly in her chocolate colored eyes.

"Yeah, I do," Harry answered as pulled out the book about Wizard Traditions and Customs. "Here it is. I haven't fully read it yet. But you seem more interested in it than I am, so I will let you borrow it if you want to."

"Thank you," she whispered as she took the book almost reverently. Then she had it open and was lost to the world.

"Well, she doesn't waste anytime," Harry said in amusement as he turned to the others. Before they could respond however, the door to their compartment opened again.

"Is it true?" A pale blond boy asked, standing in between two larger boys. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. And that he has himself a Pokémon."

"It's you!" Harry said. "You're the one from Madam Malkin's."

"Madam who?" the boy asked in confusion. "Never heard of her."

"Madam Malkin's, you know where we got fitted for our robes?" Harry was starting to get that same feeling that something was off about this situation.

"Never been there," he responded. "My mother takes me to Twilfitt and Tatting's. Only the best for us Malfoys."

"But I saw you…" Harry then began to tell his story of meeting the young Malfoy already.

"Wasn't me," Malfoy waved it off. "I am Draco Malfoy, Heir to the Noble House of Malfoy. This is Crabbe and Goyle." He indicated his two friends as an afterthought… or were they bodyguards? Harry couldn't tell.

"I'm Harry Potter, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter," Harry stood to shake his hand. This action caused Draco to raise his eyebrows in surprise, but took the hand anyway. Harry then introduced his friends. Hermione never looked up from her book, Neville seemed nervous again and was fidgeting, and Daphne had her mask firmly in place once again. Then Harry indicated each familiar as he introduced them as well.

"Ms. Greengrass, Longbottom," he greeted each with a nod. Harry figured he didn't bother with Hermione since she was still engrossed in her book. He looked at the Pokémon before turning to his bodyguards. "You two head back to our compartment. I need a word with these three, official House business."

The two seemed skeptical but nodded dumbly before lumbering off. Harry looked at Draco quizzically but the boy subtly shook his head before closing the compartment door. He grabbed his wand and began casting spells at it.

"Must be important House business to be erecting privacy wards, Malfoy," Daphne observed, her voice still emotionless.

When he was finished, he put his wand back in his wrist holster and turned back to face everyone. Hermione had looked up when he started casting spells. She seemed to have been memorizing his movements and incantations.

"It is important," Draco agreed, "But it's not really House business. I just said that to get rid of them. I have something I want to show you, but I don't want anyone else to know. Can I trust you to keep it secret?" The Malfoy Heir now looked as nervous as Neville did when Harry first met him.

"Yes," Harry answered without hesitation. "You can trust us Draco." Harry realized he had spent too much time with Luna when he wanted to make a comment about Blibbering Humdingers.

Draco stared at him for a moment before nodding. He then reached for his wrist holster again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Daphne palm her wand. Though Draco didn't grab his wand, instead he reached between it and his skin and pulled something out. Harry recognized it immediately.

"So you're a Trainer as well?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. He heard Neville gasp, but Harry kept his eyes on Draco. "I don't understand though. Why are you worried about others finding out?"

"My father… is not fond of Pokémon," Draco answered uncertainly. He then flipped the Pokécoin in the air, "Stryker!" He said simply. The red beam hit the floor and changed into a very snake-esque Pokémon.

"Ekanssss," it hissed out.

Harry felt Hedwig's slight panic over the bond. A couple of wing beats later she was on Harry's shoulder, protesting quite loudly.

"Shh, easy there Hedwig," He tried to calm her by petting her. "What's got your feathers all ruffled."

By way of answering he got a mental image of a normal colored Pidgey and an Ekans fighting in the middle of a grassland type area.

"I think I get it," Harry said slowly. He then turned to Draco, "I think Ekans and Pidgey are natural enemies. Can you keep Stryker from attacking Hedwig? I'll make sure she doesn't attack as well."

Draco eyed him for a moment before nodding. He knelt down and started whispering to the Snake Pokémon. Harry focused on the bond to reassure his familiar and to keep her from lashing out at Stryker.

After the slight excitement everyone settled back into their seats while the Pokémon remained on the floor playing. Hedwig, though, kept to her perch on Harry's shoulder. Hermione picked her book back up and began to read again. Draco remained standing by the door.

"Not that it's any of my business," Harry began, "but why is your father so against Pokémon?"

Draco shrugged, "I don't really know. After that article in The Quibbler came out he disappeared for two days. When he got back he was all bruised up and muttering about stupid creatures. My guess is he tried to force one into a bond and the Pokémon didn't accept him. Before that I had been trying to figure out the best way to tell him about Stryker. I told mother about him yesterday and she said I was right to keep Stryker away from my father."

"Why would he try to force one into bonding with him?" Harry asked, "Why not wait until one chooses him freely?"

Draco just shrugged but Neville spoke up.

"The Malfoy's are leaders in the Dark Alliance," Neville supplied, "Lord Malfoy probably wanted to use Pokémon as a status symbol." Neville shrugged then. "Honestly I'm surprised at how civil you are being Draco. Gran always talked about how your family were big supporters of You-Know-Who."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise while Draco scowled. "I am not like my father. Malfoys are not suppose to bow to anyone." He then looked directly at Neville, "And I am most certainly nothing like my aunt."

The two boys stared at each other for a long moment. Harry looked over at Daphne but she shook her head at him to not interfere. Finally Neville nodded and Draco gave him a small smile. Whatever had just transpired between the two boys, Harry knew it was very important even if he didn't know what it was. To keep himself from asking the two about their exchange, Harry retrieved his Pokédex and scanned Stryker.

 _Ekans_

 _The Snake Pokémon_

 _Male_

 _Type: Poison_

 _Entry: Ekans curls itself up in a spiral while it rests. Assuming this position allows it to quickly respond to a threat from any direction with a glare from its upraised head._

"Well, it has been nice to let Stryker out and meet other Pokémon," Draco said as he straightened up. "But I better get back to my compartment or the buffoons will come looking for me." He looked at Harry, "I hope you understand that even though I am not like my father, I must still obey him as his Heir. Please keep that in mind while we are in public."

Harry nodded, though he wasn't entirely sure what Draco was saying. A few minutes later Draco was gone, taking Stryker with him. He could feel Hedwig physically relax as soon as he was gone. Harry then turned to Daphne.

"I assume you understood what he meant by being in public?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she answered. "He meant that he will most likely spout off a bunch of the pureblood propaganda. It will be the same reason that I treat you with cold indifference in public. It is expected of us by our fathers."

Harry nodded, he was afraid it was something like that. Neville announced that they were getting close now and that they should change. So he and Neville changed in the compartment while the girls freshened up in the washroom. Harry remained quiet the rest of the way, he had a lot on his mind.

0o0o0

 **Great Hall, Hogwarts - September 1, 1991**

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table between Neville and Hermione. His sorting had been interesting. The hat had given him a choice between Slytherin and Gryffindor. At that point his friends had been dispersed between the two houses. Daphne and Draco had both gone to Slytherin while Neville and Hermione had become Gryffindors. In the end Harry told the hat to choose, it was his job after all. The hat had chuckled at that and said Harry was brave to snark off to someone who held his destiny in his hands. That had been the deciding factor apparently as the hat had placed him in Gryffindor.

Harry was in the middle of eating his treacle tart and listening to the conversation around him when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He looked up to find the source. When he looked up at the staff table he saw Professor Quirrell with his head turned talking to someone with greasy black hair.

"Ack!" Harry cried as he felt a stabbing pain shoot through his scar. The noise level was such that only Hermione heard him.

"What's wrong Harry?" she asked him, breaking away from her conversation with one of the Gryffindor prefects about classes.

"It's nothing Hermione," Harry mumbled back. Normally he would have asked about the person that Quirrell was talking to, but he decided he would find out sooner or later. Hermione looked skeptical but thankfully didn't press the issue.

When the deserts finally disappeared, the noise in the Great Hall started to die down. It didn't fall completely quiet until Dumbledore stood.

"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you," The Headmaster began with a twinkle in his eye.

He then went on to explain about the forbidden forest, using magic in the corridors, the Quidditch trials, and then about avoiding the third-floor corridor on the right hand side.

"And one last announcement," Dumbledore went on. "As I am sure most of you know, there has recently been a discovery of some amazing animals known as Pokémon." There was some muttering amongst the students at this announcement. Apparently there was those that still believed The Quibbler was making them up. The Hall became quiet once more as Dumbledore began to speak again. "I am aware that some of you already have one as a familiar. While the law says that you are allowed to keep your familiar with you at all times, I must ask that you keep them in Pokécoin form during classes. I'm sure you don't need any help with distracting yourselves." His eyes were twinkling madly as a few students chuckled.

"Also along the same lines I would like to introduce to you your House Pokémon!" He gestured towards the door of a side room and it opened to reveal four large Pokémon. "I would like for you all to meet Sal, the Seviper, Rei, the Noctowl, Gaia, the Sandslash, and Ric, the Arcanine."

The four Pokémon stood in front of the staff table. Each one at the head of each of the houses.

"Each of these Pokémon have bonded with me, but they are here to guide and protect each of you. They will also help any current Trainers with their Pokémon." He looked around his eyes twinkling like mad. "Now I believe that is enough excitement for today. Now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!"

Harry barely paid attention after that. He was too busy staring at the four Pokémon. They were bigger than any he had seen before. Would Hedwig get that big? And the Headmaster said they had all four bonded with him, he must be the first to have multiple Pokémon bonds! Harry absently followed his fellow Gryffindor first years as they made their way to the Gryffindor tower. He noted that Ric was following them as well.

He couldn't wait to get to his room and look up the four House Pokémon in his Pokédex.

0o0o0

 **Headmaster's Office - September 1, 1991**

Albus sighed before taking another sip of his firewhiskey. Another term had begun, but it wasn't just any term. Harry Potter had finally rejoined the wizarding world today. The boy seemed safe and happy, if a bit on the scrawny side. So far it seemed like most of his plans had been successful.

He knew from Hagrid's report that Harry was still unaware of his status as Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter. Farslayer had been preoccupied during Harry's visit to Gringotts just like he had predicted. Furthermore, Harry had met his Malfoy look-alike in Diagon Alley, that meeting should have planted the seed of rivalry between the two boys. As it was unlikely Harry would realize it wasn't really the Malfoy Scion. That should keep him well away from the Dark Alliance.

So far there had only been two unforeseen complications to his master plan. The first had been Hagrid giving the boy a Pokémon egg instead of an owl as Albus had instructed. The sudden appearance of Pokémon overall wasn't a huge upset to his plans. Slowking and Xatu had actually been a big help to him since their appearance along with the four House Pokémon.

The second he had noticed at the feast earlier. It appeared that the youngest male Weasley was unsuccessful in befriending young Harry. The lad must have got confused and didn't say the words exactly as he had been told. Albus wasn't too concerned about this development either. Weasley would get several more chances to get in Harry's good gracious.

 _Though maybe the separation will open the door for Ms. Weasley._ Dumbledore thought to himself. _Too bad I couldn't ensure Harry's commitment to the light by setting up a betrothal contract with the Weasleys. If only there wasn't that by-law in the House of Potter saying only the Head of House could create a betrothal contract for a member of its house._

In the end, he decided he would monitor the situation with Ronald and maybe give it a push here or there. But if the youngest male Weasley wasn't successful, there was always the only female Weasley child next year. All Albus had to do in the meantime was make sure Harry didn't fall in with the Dark crowd. His apparent friendship with Longbottom should see to that.

Albus Dumbledore took another sip of his firewhiskey. Yep, everything was going just as planned.

0o00o0

 _AN: More Pokémon are introduced! And Ron shows that he is a prat. For those wondering, Ron didn't know the words he was using was a trigger for a compulsion charm. I used those words specifically because he uses them in canon when he first finds Harry on the train._


	4. Chapter 4 - Brooms, Poké Battles, Trolls

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own either Pokémon or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in the sandbox that they left open._

Chapter 4 - Brooms, Poké Battles, and Trolls

0o00o0

 **Gryffindor Common Room - September 12, 1991**

Harry smiled as Trev and Lola play in front of the fire. Hedwig was perched on the back of the couch he was sitting on watching over the two playful Pokémon. Harry had been surprised to learn that the three of them were the only ones with Pokémon familiars in Gryffindor. He had came to the conclusion that not many had been chosen as one of the first Pokémon Trainers, and there had only been a month for others to find their familiars.

He reflected on his first week and a half of school. Some of his classes were fun, like Transfiguration and Charms. Some were boring, History of Magic jumped to the front of the list. While others had awful professors, Potions and Defense Against the Darks Arts came to mind there. _Seriously,_ Harry mused, _what is Snape's problem? I answered all his questions correctly! The last two weren't even in the standard textbook. It was only thanks to Luna's recommendations that I picked up the book that had the answers! Yet he STILL took away points!_

Harry chuckled when he heard Hermione going over the textbook approach to flying with Neville at a table just a little bit away from him. Ron Weasley had ranted for hours last night about how flying was all about instinct and that you couldn't learn it from a book. Harry wasn't sure which way was correct so he had read the same books as Hermione only once, and then decided not to worry too much about it after that. In just a couple hours they would find out which approach was best. Harry smiled when he remembered who they were having flying lessons with. Most Gryffindors would think him crazy for being happy to be grouped with Slytherins, so he didn't broadcast that fact.

Ever since they arrived, Daphne had been exactly like she said she would be… cold and distant. So far he had only managed to talk with her once since being sorted. In that conversation she had informed him that the only Slytherins with Pokémon familiars were Draco and herself. Both of them were keeping that fact hidden from the others in their house. She did state that there could be others with Pokémon but were keeping them secret as well. Slytherins and Gryffindors only had Potions together and so far they hadn't managed to work out a time to hang out.

"Ready to show the bookworms how it's done?"

Harry groaned to himself as Ron Weasley sat across from him. The prat had been trying to be his 'friend' since their first night. His reasoning was that since they were now fellow Gryffindors they should be friends.

"Those _bookworms_ are my friends, in case you've forgotten," Harry barely kept from snarling at the redhead.

"Sure they are," Weasley said with a wink. "I know you'll see how awesome flying is when we get out there. I'll even give you some pointers if you want."

"I think I'll manage just fine on my own," Harry stood at that point. "It's getting a bit crowded in here. I'm going to go to the library to finish my Transfiguration homework." He really didn't want to deal with Ron and his not so subtle suggestions.

Ron grimaced at this. "Why do ya wanna do that for? We could play a game of chess instead!"

"Some of us care about our classes Weasley," Harry said. Before he made it to the portrait he felt Hedwig land on his shoulder. "See you guys on the pitch!" Harry called out to Hermione and Neville. They called their agreement as he climbed through the Fat Lady.

He could feel Hedwig's building excitement as she balanced on his shoulder. She knew he wasn't going to the library. Harry had only told the prat that so he wouldn't follow. His real goal was the grounds. For the past couple days he had been observing Hedwig as she flew in the air. He figured watching her adjust to air currents had to be more effective than reading about it in a book, even if the book had moving pictures.

0o0o0

 **Quidditch Pitch - September 12, 1991**

Daphne walked a bit behind the rest of the Slytherin first years as they walked to the Pitch. She hadn't made any friends in her house yet. Davis seemed like a nice enough girl, but she was too obsessed with being part of Parkinson's gang. If there was one thing that she was sure of, it was that she did NOT want to anything to do with Pansy Parkinson and her little group.

The Greengrass heiress had kept her distance from Malfoy as well, at least in public. She had to give him some credit though. He was very good about playing the typical pureblood heir. Malfoy seemed particularly skilled at winding up the Weasley boy, which Daphne secretly enjoyed watching. The prat deserved it after what he had tried to do to Harry.

A smile threatened to break across her carefully blank face at the thought of the emerald eyed boy. It was true they hadn't seen much of each other since the train ride but he was one of the only people she considered a friend at the moment. Sure there was Neville and Hermione, but Neville was too intimidated by her public persona and Hermione was more interested in her own books than in anyone else. Harry had tried calling her through her Pokédex a few times. She had been able to answer only once. She had a fleeting thought about how funny it was that a Slytherin's only friends were actually Gryffindors. Professor Snape would be beside himself if he found out about her friendship with them. Though she also knew most Slytherins would publicly denounce her, but would secretly congratulate her for making allies in the opposing house.

When they reached the pitched she saw there were two rows of brooms on the ground. Madam Hooch told them to go ahead and stand by a broom while they waited for the Gryffindors. Daphne took a spot right in the middle of the left line, while Draco took the one right across from her. He winked at her with his smug expression still on. Daphne wanted to roll her eyes at him, but that would break the facade she was creating.

"I look forward to flying with you Ms. Greengrass," he said aloud.

"Really?" She replied calmly, "I thought you would be flying with your bodyguards… I mean friends."

"Nah," he waved the suggestion off, "they aren't very good fliers. And they sure aren't as pretty as you."

Daphne carefully raised an eyebrow at him. "Here I thought you were with them all the time for a completly different reason."

"W-what?!" Malfoy sputtered out. "I-I'm not like that!"

"Could have fooled me," Daphne shrugged. "You do seem to be always with them. I just figured…" she trailed off as the rest of her housemates started sniggering. Yes, she liked Malfoy but that didn't mean she would let him off easy. Malfoy seemed to realize if he continued talking he would only dig his hole deeper, so he wisely kept his mouth closed.

She closed her eyes and focused on her occlumency to shut out everyone while they waited. She had been practicing every spare moment she had since Harry mentioned on the train he had a fully formed mindscape. Even though she had started practicing the Mind Art last year, she only had the foundations built of her mindscape, but her shields were fully formed.

"Is this broom taken, Ms. Greengrass."

Daphne's mask almost slipped when she heard that voice. She opened her eyes and turned to look at the source. Harry had his silly lopsided grin plastered on his face as he stood by the broom next to hers. The urge to make a snappy comeback was overwhelming, but she was vividly aware of the rest of her house staring at her back.

"No," she answered flatly. Though she was sure he could see her amusement in her eyes.

"Excellent!" He answered, "I hope flying isn't too hard. I would love to go flying with Hedwig sometime."

She only raised an eyebrow at him. What was he up to? Harry knew she couldn't be friendly with him in public.

"Though it would be fun to go for a swim too," he continued as if he didn't see her expression. "If the weather holds out, this weekend might be a good time to go. Maybe saturday evening in the Black Lake."

Daphne stared at him in disbelief. Harry had just set up a meeting time and place with her. If she was right, that was way too Slytherin of him. By the look on his face Daphne was sure she was right.

"Whatever," she answered with no emotion in her voice. She turned to look straight ahead, but was met with Draco giving her a half smile of his own. With a glare, she managed to wipe the smile off his face.

It was then that Madam Hooch started her lecture. Daphne barely paid attention since she had been riding brooms since she was little.

"Up!" She called out when ordered. Her broom instantly leapt to her hand. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Harry had no issues either. Further down Neville and Hermione were having problems getting their brooms to obey. At least they weren't the only ones, Weasley's broom was rolling around on the ground and the boy was getting louder and louder as he got more frustrated.

When it was time to mount their brooms, she noticed hers seemed somewhat wobbly. Though it looked like the rest of the school brooms were in just as bad of shape. They wouldn't be allowed to use them for flying lessons if the brooms weren't safe, right?

"Three… Two…"

Daphne turned at the sound of a scream and saw Neville already in the air. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he climbed higher and higher. Then time regained speed as he slipped and fell. Daphne winced at the sound of a crack, indicating a broken bone. The whole incident had happened so fast that Madam Hooch hadn't had time to draw her wand.

After a quick examination, Madam Hooch declared it was only a broken wrist and that she would take him to the Hospital Wing. Everyone else was to remain on the ground.

"Madam Hooch, I can take him so you can stay with the rest of the class," Hermione volunteered.

"Thank you Ms. Granger," Madam Hooch agreed. "Drop him off and then come straight back here."

Hermione paled slightly, "Yes, Madam Hooch." Apparently she was trying to get out of flying herself.

Madam Hooch started up the lesson again as soon as Hermione had led Neville away. Ten minutes later they were all in the air doing soft laps around the pitch. They had slowly been climbing the entire time and they were now level with the goal posts. Now that they were in the air Harry was flying a behind her, with a couple people between them. He seemed to be a natural at flying, it now made sense that he had a flying familiar. On the ground she saw that Hermione had finally returned and Madam Hooch was showing her how to mount her broom. Things seemed to be going smoothly ever since Neville had fallen.

"What the-" Daphne yelped as her broom suddenly gave a downward jolt. That was the only warning she had before she was suddenly free falling. Not even her Occlumency could keep her from screaming out. She was falling, Madam Hooch wasn't paying attention, the students closest to her were novices, and Harry's familiar was at the other goal post (if she could even do anything to help). Daphne screwed her eyes shut tight so she wouldn't have to see the ground rushing up to meet her. This was the end and she knew it.

Almost as suddenly as she had begun free falling she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her upwards. The grass brushed against her feet as her rescuer leveled off. Apparently her rescuer's broom couldn't handle the maneuver with the extra weight and gave out as well. She felt a second arm wrap protectively around her as they went tumbling head over heels through the grass. Her rescuer seemed to be maneuvering their body so they would take the brunt of the fall instead of her.

When they finally came to a stop, Daphne kept her eyes firmly shut while she took a few deep breaths. She had survived. She had been certain she was going to die, but someone had saved her somehow. A traitorous tear ran down her cheek as her emotions broke through her Occlumency. She buried her face into the chest of her rescuer. How she had ended up facing her rescuer, she didn't know. Right now she didn't really care. She had survived, and that was all that mattered.

"You ok?" A familiar voice asked.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up a bit to look at the face of her rescuer. There he was, breathing heavy and staring at her with concern evident in his emerald green eyes.

"I-" she swallowed and tried again, "I think so." She didn't even try to keep the emotion out of her voice. Her public persona be damned.

"Good, I'm glad," Harry gave her his lopsided grin. "I think I'm alright too. But I would be better if you could not sit on me."

Only then did she realize she had been straddling him. She hurriedly moved off of him as Madam Hooch finally made it to them, Hermione right behind her. Other students were beginning to land near them as well.

"Are you two alright?" Madam Hooch asked as she began casting diagnostic spells at the pair of them. Daphne recognized the spells as the type professionals used at Quidditch matches to quickly check for any life threatening injuries.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry answered.

"Do you think you can stand? I think Madam Pomfrey should take a look at you two," her spells had apparently came back with negative findings.

"I think I can. Ha-erm- Potter took most of the brunt of the fall," she replied before Draco helped her to stand up. In her emotional state she had almost slipped and used his first name. While she didn't care about her facade right now, she still couldn't afford to let others know she was friends with the Gryffindor.

Harry also stood with Hermione's help. "I'm fine," he said aloud as he gently pushed Hermione away. Everyone was staring at him in disbelief. How had he managed to not even get a scratch? That was when Harry's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted.

"HARRY!" Daphne shouted as she rushed forward to catch him from falling.

0o0o0

 **Hospital Wing, Hogwarts - September 12, 1991**

The first thing he noticed was the smell. Wherever he was, the place was heavily sterilized. _Must be the Hospital Wing. But why am I… oh, right_. His latest memories slowly came to the surface. _Last thing I remember was hearing my name being yelled as I blacked out. Whose voice was it though?_ He decided that wasn't the most important thing right now. What he needed to do was make sure Daphne was alright.

"You're awake finally," an unfamiliar feminine voice said from above him. "How are you feeling?"

Harry opened his eyes to see the blurry image of the school's resident Healer looking down at him. Madam Pomfrey if he remembered correctly.

"I'm fine," he repeated himself from earlier. "I just need my glasses."

"Here, I have them." It wasn't Madam Pomfrey who answered him. Harry felt his glasses pressed into his hands. He quickly put them on and saw Madam Pomfrey was waving her wand around him and muttering under her breath. Though it was the blonde haired girl sitting by his bed that gained his attention.

"Hey, are you ok?" Harry asked the girl he had rescued.

Daphne snorted in amusement. "I'm not the one who is currently resting in a Hospital bed."

"Maybe you should be," Harry countered. "You were the one who fell today." He could see Madam Pomfrey about to agree with him but Daphne cut her off.

"Madam Pomfrey has already cleared me," the first year Slytherin glared at him.

"Everything seems to check out," Madam Pomfrey almost sounded disappointed that she couldn't find something wrong. "I will go inform Professor McGonagall that you are awake. She wanted to speak with you as soon as you were fit to do so. Though you will remain in this bed, understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Harry gulped out his answer. She had used a voice that brokered no argument.

"Don't worry Madam Pomfrey," Daphne added, "I will make sure he stays put."

The Healer eyed the blonde girl critically for a moment before nodding. A moment later the duo were alone.

"So where are Neville and Hermione? I am surprised they aren't here," Harry asked into the silence that had settled between them.

"They were here up until a few minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey sent them on to dinner. Since I am still technically in her care, she let me stay here with you."

"Pidgey!"

Harry looked up to see Hedwig glaring at him from the headboard of the bed. "Umm, hey there girl," Harry said nervously. He did not like the look in his familiar's eyes. "I'm okay, I swear. Madam Pomfrey even said so!" Hedwig continued to glare at him for a moment before swooping down and landing at his side. "Thanks for forgiving me, Hedwig." He scratched the top of her head where he knew she liked it.

Daphne chuckled a bit at their antics. "It's been awhile since I was able to let Scylla out. I don't think I have to worry about anyone coming in here other than Neville and Hermione." A moment later the Horsea was sitting in her lap and stretching in its own cute way.

This time it was Daphne who broke the silence between them. "So there is something I need to talk to you about Harry."

"Oh?" Harry asked as he looked over at her. Right away he noticed she seemed very serious, but also a little nervous.

"I think I might owe you a Life Debt," Daphne whispered.

Harry scoffed, causing Daphne to look up at him sharply with narrowed eyes. "You don't owe me anything Daphne," Harry quickly said. "I just did the right thing. Anyone else would have done the same thing."

"But they didn't," Daphne countered, "You did. Don't you realize how big of a deal Life Debts are in our world?" Harry just stared at her in confusion, causing Daphne to sigh. "You really should read that book you loaned Hermione." She didn't want to be the one to tell him that, depending on the circumstances, a Life Debt could be settled by claiming the other as their slave. She really didn't want to tell him how most Life Debts were settled. "In our case, I think it can help with our situation."

"How?" Harry was starting to feel lost.

"Well," Daphne said slowly. She had been thinking on this ever since Madam Pomfrey had cleared her a couple hours ago. "I could start being with you in public. We could say that you claimed me as a tutor or something as payment for the Life Debt."

"I could ACTUALLY claim you as a tutor so that you don't owe the Life Debt anymore," Harry said.

"You could," Daphne agreed. "But I don't think you should. I think we should leave it open for now. My magic shouldn't demand me to repay the debt as long as we remain friends."

Harry watched her for a long moment before speaking. "You think you can use this against your father, Lord Greengrass." It wasn't a question.

"How did you-"

"I'm good at observing people," Harry shrugged before laying back down to stare at the ceiling. "I don't exactly have the best home life. So to keep ahead of everyone, I learned how to read people very early on." He paused for a moment. "Okay, we will do it your way. I don't like it. But I understand you have your own reasons for wanting it this way."

"Thank you Harry," she said softly. After that they sat in comfortable silence, both lost in their own thoughts. The silence only broken by the contented sounds of Scylla and Hedwig.

It was into this silence that Professor McGonagall came strolling in with a burly looking older boy with brown hair.

0o0o0

 **Hogwarts Grounds - September 19, 1991**

"You know when I offered to battle someone for fun, I didn't expect you to volunteer."

"Oh and why is that?"

"I thought you would rather watch and take notes on battling."

"The best way to learn is by doing."

"Well don't expect me to be easy on you just because it's your birthday."

"I would hate you if you did."

"Eevee!"

"You are right Lola," Hermione said with a small smile. "I think Mr. Youngest-Seeker-In-A-Century is scared of losing to us."

Harry actually scoffed at that. _Well at least that is a title that I actually earned_. "No, I'm more scared of what you'll do to me after you lose." This caused several people to laugh which made the brown haired witch turn a bit pink in embarrassment.

Their onlookers had formed a large loose ring around them. Everyone there had followed the pair from the party Harry and Neville had thrown for Hermione. There were several people from the different Houses, though Daphne was the only one from Slytherin. When things had started to wind down, someone had mentioned not ever seeing a Pokémon battle. Harry thought it would be a great idea to have one. So he offered to battle someone as a finale of sorts to the party. Only the girl of honor had decided that she would be the one to battle him.

"Ready Hedwig?" Harry asked the Tiny Bird Pokémon perched on his shoulder.

"Pidgey!" She took off from his shoulder and landed on the ground in between the two Trainers.

"Let's do this Lola," Hermione said to her own familiar.

"Eev eevee," she ran out onto the battlefield as well.

Susan Bones stepped in between the two, Marie (her Ledyba) hovering above her. "Alright, rules are simple. First Pokémon to faint loses." The volunteer referee eyed the two trainers. "Birthday girl gets first move." She smiled as she stepped back. Harry mock glared at her for the blatant favoritism. He wasn't really angry, this was for fun after all. "Begin!"

"Lola, start with your Tail Whip!"

Lola began wagging her tail back and forth. Hedwig glowed a soft white as her defense was lowered.

"Let's go on the offensive, Hedwig. Tackle!" He was pretty sure Hedwig was stronger than Lola so he wasn't too concerned by her defense being compromised.

Hedwig took the air and began diving at the Evolution Pokémon.

"Lola, dodge and use Sand-attack!"

Lola tried to get out of the way of Hedwig's tackle, but the Tiny Bird Pokémon was too fast. Lola was knocked back, but she didn't seem too affected. Then Lola turned around and started kicking her feet towards Hedwig, causing a spray of sand to sail at the Pidgey.

"Use Tackle again!" Harry smiled when he saw the sand heading towards Hedwig.

"Pidgey," she cried as the sand hit her. Then her eyes glowed white for a moment as her Keen Eye ability kicked in. Hedwig shook her head to clear the rest of the sand and started to dive at Lola again.

Hermione's eyes widened when she saw that Hedwig was unaffected by the Sand-attack. That was really going to limit her and Lola. "Counter with your own Tackle!" Hermione was hoping that Lola's Adaptability ability would help even the odds against the obviously stronger flying Pokémon.

"Vee!" She lept into the air to meet Hedwig head on. The two collided in mid air and fell to the ground. Each stood back up but were breathing heavy now.

Hermione knew Lola couldn't last much longer. They simply hadn't trained enough. She had been neglecting her familiar's training since they arrived at Hogwarts. Who could blame her with all the new things there were to learn? Also, Lola was very limited offensively. Her move set was geared more towards support than outright battling.

"Alright Lola, use Detect and then follow it up with another Tackle."

Harry watched Lola warily as she glowed with a pink aura for a moment. He didn't know what Detect was and didn't see any immediate effects. He didn't like not knowing what the result of that move was. "Hedwig, Let's finish this. Gust!"

Hedwig flapped her wings, creating a small tornado that headed straight for Lola. Harry could see no way that it would miss hitting its mark. He was surprised then when Lola lept _over_ the tornado and charged at Hedwig. The Tiny Bird Pokémon was just as surprised because she didn't have time to dodge the Tackle.

Harry looked up at Hermione to see that she was smiling. He was determined not to lose now, that smile was too arrogant for his liking. It didn't suit the book loving witch at all. Luckily Hedwig wasn't down for the count yet.

"Use your own Sand-attack, Hedwig."

"Tail Whip again!"

The sand hit Lola just as she started to wag her tail. It was enough to lower the Pidgey's defense again however. Though, now Lola was pawing at her face to shake away the sand. Harry knew that if Hedwig was hit by another tackle it would be the end of the battle. That was twice now that her defense had been lowered.

"Take to the air Hedwig! Use Steel Wing, but be careful not to get hit again!"

Hedwig called out her understanding as she flew up into the air and circled above the heads of the onlookers. Then she started to dive at Lola again, this time her wings started to glow silver.

Hermione wasn't smiling anymore, this was bad, very bad. Lola's accuracy was now hindered and that move, Steel Wing, sounded like a powerful attack. Unfortunately it hadn't been long enough since Lola used Detect so it would probably fail this time and none of her other moves would help now. So she went with the only strategy she could. "Counter again with Tackle, Lola"

"Eevee," Lola growled as she leapt into the air again.

Though this time the counter wasn't nearly as effective. She managed to hit Hedwig, but not head on like last time. This was also when Hedwig brought her attack down onto Lola. Hitting the Evolution Pokémon with her glowing wing. Like last time, both Pokémon fell to the ground, but unlike last time neither stood right away.

Both Trainers shouted encouragements at their Pokémon to try and get them to stand. Finally one slowly stood.

"Match over, Lola is knocked out. Hedwig wins!" Susan cried out causing the small crowd to cheer.

Harry rushed forward and scooped Hedwig in his arms. "You did great girl!"

"Pidgey!" They celebrated together for a moment before Harry made his way to Hermione and Lola.

"You're going to be okay, Lola. I'm proud of you," Hermione was whispering to her familiar as she cradled the fox like Pokémon in her lap on the ground.

"Ee… vee," Lola replied softly.

"You did well, both of you," Harry agreed as he helped Hermione stand, Lola still cradled in her arms.

"Let's get Lola to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey's Chansey will be able to help her recover faster," Neville said when he got next to the pair, Trev on his heels. Daphne walked up with him but she remained silent.

Harry could feel that Hedwig was on the verge of fainting herself. "I'll go with you too, Hedwig needs healing as well."

Susan and her friend Hannah Abbott decided to have a battle with Marie and Tryf (Hannah's Oddish). So the four friends weren't followed as they made their way to the Hospital wing. Hermione and Neville walked together as Harry and Daphne hung back so they could talk.

"I thought you were going to let her win," Daphne stated soft enough the other two couldn't hear her.

"I was," Harry confirmed her non question. "It doesn't seem right to beat someone on their Birthday." Daphne only raised an eyebrow to encourage him to continue. This caused Harry to sigh. "After she had Lola use that Detect move, which I still need to figure out exactly what that was, I saw this smile on her face. It wasn't her normal smile though. The expression she had looked like it came directly from Weasley when he is about to beat someone at chess. It was too arrogant, it just didn't seem right on her face."

Daphne nodded slowly. "So you decided to beat her so that arrogance wouldn't be encouraged." Then she tilted her head at him. "That was… almost Slytherin of you, Harry."

Harry smiled at her. "Well, the Hat did want to put me in Slytherin. It said I had qualities of both Slytherin and Gryffindor. Told me I could choose between the two."

"And you chose Gryffindor?" A little hurt crept into her normally emotionless voice.

"No I didn't," Harry shrugged. "I may have told it to stop making me do its job. The Hat decided if I was brave enough to tell off the thing deciding my fate for the next seven years then I clearly belonged in Gryffindor."

Daphne just shook her head as they reached the Hospital Wing. Chansey was already checking on Lola as Harry and Daphne made their way over.

The Slytherin watched as the two Gryffindors had their Pokémon healed. The past week had been one of the best of her life. She was able to freely hang out with her friends under the guise of fulfilling the Life Debt. Sure, she was shunned in the Slytherin House for not finding a way out of it, but it was better than what they would have done if they found out she was voluntarily spending time with the Gryffindors. Snape had thrown a literal temper tantrum when he found out. In the end he had to allow her to associate with the Potter brat, as he called Harry. He did not want to deal with Lord Greengrass's wrath if she were to lose her magic.

She shuddered as she thought about her father. The letter she had received when he found out about the Life Debt had been… not pleasant. Mostly he was disappointed in her for letting herself be placed in a situation that allowed the Life Debt to form. Daphne had almost thrown the letter in the fireplace at that point. As if she could control that the school brooms were of such poor quality. He had wanted to settle the Life Debt by typical Pureblood Tradition. Daphne had delayed that by reminding her Lord father that there was no Lord Potter currently and that Harry couldn't take the mantle until he was at least thirteen. She knew she would have to come up with something else when that was not longer the case, but hopefully by then she will have gathered the courage necessary to talk to Harry about it.

"You alright Daphne?" Harry asked, causing her to jump a bit.

"Yeah, how are Hedwig and Lola?" She mentally cursed herself for not paying attention to her surroundings. She could ponder her father later.

"All healed," Harry said with a smile. As if on cue Hedwig landed on his shoulder.

"Good, so what's next?"

"The Birthday Girl wants to go to the library."

"Of course she does," Daphne rolled her eyes. The Ravenclaw in Gryffindor clothing would of course want to spend the rest of her birthday in the library.

"Come on guys! Let's go!" Hermione yelled from the doorway, drawing the irritated stare of Madam Pomfrey.

"Eevee!"

Harry turned to Daphne and Neville with a shrug before heading off after the book loving witch.

0o0o0

 **Charms Corridor, Hogwarts - October 31, 1991**

Harry wasn't paying attention to his surroundings as they left Charms. He really just wanted classes to be done with so he could go back to his room. This day had never been kind to him in the past, and recently he had learned about another reason to hate this day.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her, she's a nightmare, honestly. She must have something on Potter for him to hang around her so much."

Harry felt someone push him aside as they rushed past him. He was shocked to see that it was Hermione, and there were tears in her eyes. The sight was enough to break him out of his melancholy. Only then did the statement that had just been said process in his brain. He grabbed the youngest male Weasley by the arm and spun him around.

"What was that Weasley?" He asked with more than a little steel in his voice.

"Umm," Weasley visibly gulped, but he answered anyway, out of bravery or stupidity was anyone's guess. "I said the truth. She's a bossy know-it-all! She is constantly going on about studying and homework. If it wasn't for that animal of hers, she would be in the library all day!"

"And the last bit?" Harry growled out, ignoring the insult to Hermione's familiar by addressing Lola as if she was the same as his rat. He could feel Hedwig wanting out of her Pokécoin form, but he had enough control to realize that that would be a bad idea.

Weasley stared at him in confusion before he remembered what he had said. "I'm right aren't I? She has something on you. How else could the Boy-Who-Lived be friends with someone like her?!"

Harry's emerald eyes flashed dangerously. "This coming from the boy so desperate to be friends with someone famous that he resorted to using a compulsion charm," Harry spat out in disgust. He didn't notice others around him gasping. "Let me make a couple things clear for you Ronald Weasley. Hermione is my friend because I like her. She is a beautiful and intelligent witch. She can even be funny when she wants to be. You, Weasley, will never be friends with me if you continue to berate my friends like you have since I first met you. In case you haven't noticed, you have fewer friends than she does. All you do is eat, play chess, eat, sleep, eat, talk about Quidditch, and... Did I say eat yet?"

"Not enough," Neville spoke up from Harry's side. He had been gaining confidence since meeting Harry. No longer was he the shy boy from the train station. Harry took a deep breath to calm himself and force the power down that he had felt rising in him.

"I'll give you one last chance, Weasley. If you don't apologize to Hermione you'll never be a friend of mine." Harry stared the young red head down, "Oh, and NEVER call me that stupid title again! Do you not realize that I lost my parents that night? Ten years ago TODAY, actually!"

Ron mumbled something that Harry couldn't hear. However, from the coloring of the boy's cheeks Harry figured he must have gotten the message loud and clear.

Harry turned to Parvati, done dealing with Weasley, "Did you see which way she went?"

Parvati gave a jerk at suddenly being addressed by Harry. "Umm yeah, she was heading that way. I think to the girl's washroom."

Harry smiled at her, "Thanks." He turned to Neville, "If I don't make it to class, make up an excuse for us?"

"Yeah, Harry," Neville nodded.

Harry barely stayed long enough to see the nod. He took off running down the hall. His mind raced the whole way. Why had he gotten so defensive over the brown haired witch? Yes, she was his friend but not as close of a friend as Luna was. Even though he was at Hogwarts and Luna was still home, they made it a point to talk to each other every night through their Pokédex.

He put the stray thoughts aside as he came up to the door for the girl's washroom. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention. He could really use some of those privacy spells that Daphne knew right about now. Oh well, nothing for it now. He pushed the door ajar and went in. It surprised him there were no wards to keep boys out like there was on the Gryffindor girl's staircase.

"Hermione, are you in here?" There was no sense in lingering if she wasn't.

"Harry?"

The boy in question sighed, she was here alright. If the sound of her voice was any indication, she had been crying. Since he didn't see her out in the open, Harry figured she must be hiding in one of the stalls.

"Yeah, it's me." He closed the door behind him and locked it. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" She was a terrible liar. Not to mention she hadn't even asked what he was doing in a girl's washroom yet. He leaned on the sink across from the stall that her voice was coming from.

"I heard what Weasley said."

"Oh…"

"No one believes him, you know." Harry said, "Weasley is a prat. He's just jealous of you."

"J-jealous? Of me?"

"Yes, of you." Harry remained silent after that, he wanted that fact to sink in. After a little while, Hermione asked the question he knew would come after Weasley's accusations.

"Why are you friends with me? I'm nobody special. I'm just the bossy bookworm."

"You ARE special, Hermione," Harry said definitively, "Not only are you a witch, but you are the brightest witch of our age. You are the most intelligent person I know. No one in our year knows as many spells as you do, and very few can pick them up as quickly as you can. And if you still don't believe that you are special, you should ask Lola what she thinks."

"... that doesn't explain why you are friends with me."

Harry smiled a bit, her voice sounded like it was clearing up a little. "We are friends because of all the reasons I just mentioned and because I care about you Hermione. You're one of a handful of people I have ever trusted. And you are one of the even fewer people that look at me and see me, not the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Then why didn't you say something when Ron made his accusations?"

Harry sighed, it was a fair question. "Honestly? I wasn't paying attention. I was wallowing in self pity because Halloween has never been good to me. After you almost knocked me over, my brain kicked in gear and I realized what had happened. I proceeded to… have a talk with the prat," Harry paused. "I'm sorry for not defending you quicker," he finished softly.

The door to the stall opened to reveal a red faced Hermione, her cheeks still wet from her tears. "Thank you," she said as she grabbed him in a hug. Harry did his best not to tense up, however Hermione noticed the reaction but decided to file it away for later thought.

They stayed like that for a while. Harry was glad that Hermione was feeling better, while Hermione was glad that someone considered her a good enough friend to comfort her.

"Harry, can I ask another question?"

"Sure," he resisted the urge to point out that she just did.

"Why are you in the girl's washroom?" She pulled out of the hug and looked him in the eyes. Harry could see the faint spark of amusement in her eyes.

"Well, you see… my friend was crying and I needed to make sure she was alright." Harry gave her his lopsided grin.

This earned him a small smile from the brown haired witch. "I'm better now, thanks." Then she started pushing him towards the door. "But you need to leave before someone sees you. I need a bit more alone time to sort out my thoughts. Okay?"

Harry laughed as he reached for the handle of the door. "If you're sure you're okay… then I'll see you later." After stalling long enough to earn another shooing motion from her, he opened the door and snuck out into the hallway. Harry didn't know how long he had been in there, but he figured he had at least missed a full class.

"I never took you for a pervert, Potter."

Harry groaned as he turned to face the Slytherin. "And exactly what are you doing hanging out in front of the washroom during class?"

"I was looking for you actually," the blonde said with a smirk. "I just figured you might be here."

"Very funny," Harry sighed. "As much as I love bantering with you Daphne... I'm rather tired and stressed out at the moment. Can we skip all that?"

The blonde girl shrugged. "You ruin all my fun. To answer your question… Neville called me. It was lucky I went back to my room in between classes, so I was alone. He said the Weasel had made some stupid comment about Hermione, you yelled at him, and then you ran off to track her down. At some point he realized you were intending to follow her into the lavatory, so he called me to see if I could help. How is she?"

Harry smiled at her, "Thanks. I appreciate you coming. Hermione is fine, but she said she still needs some alone time."

Daphne nodded, "I don't blame her after what that idiot said. I still don't understand why you agreed to be his second in that fake midnight duel last week."

Harry laughed at this. "Easy, I wanted to see Malfoy kick the snot out of him! I had no way of knowing that Malfoy was being all Slytherin and setting a trap for the dunce. Nearly got Hermione, Neville, and I killed when we ran into the Cerberus thing on the third floor."

"There's a reason he was put into Slytherin," Daphne had a ghost of a smile now. "You go on and get ready for the Feast. I'll see if Hermione wants to have some girl talk time."

Harry sighed and nodded. He didn't like leaving Hermione like this, but he trusted Daphne almost as much as he trusted Luna. "Okay, I'll see you there."

Daphne watched the Gryffindor Golden Boy run off down the hall. She shook her head. How had the Hat ever considered placing him into Slytherin? That boy was a Gryffindor through and through. She opened the door to check in with Hermione.

0o0o0

 **Great Hall, Hogwarts - October 31, 1991**

Harry stared dumbfounded at the chaos that had erupted after Professor Quirrell's proclamation. There was a troll in the dungeons? And now the Headmaster wanted all students to return to their dorms. Hadn't Daphne told him that the Slytherin dorms were in the dungeons? How did it make sense to send them there? Shouldn't they all be staying the Great Hall?

His next thought had Harry ground to a halt as they were being ushered away by Percy Weasley. He caught Neville's arm and pulled him away during the chaos. When they found an empty alcove Harry spoke.

"Hermione doesn't know about the troll. Daphne indicated she was still in the bathroom at the start of the Feast."

"We should tell one of the professors," Neville answered nervously.

"No, if the troll gets past them somehow she could be in danger. We need to go get her."

"Why not call her?" A third voice said, causing Harry and Neville to spin around to face the source.

"DAPHNE!" Harry exclaimed, "What are you doing here! Shouldn't you be with the other Slytherins?"

"Those idiots," she scoffed, "are heading straight for the Troll if he told the truth. I may not be a Ravenclaw but I'm not stupid enough to go towards one of those things."

"Right," Harry grabbed his Pokédex. "That makes two good ideas." Harry said Hermione's name to the Pokédex and waited anxiously for her to answer.

"Harry? What is it? I was just about to come to the Feast," Her face appeared on the mirror screen.

"Hermione! Thank Merlin!" Harry exhaled a breath of relief, "Listen, there's a troll in the castle. Stay where you are and we will join you so we can head to the common room together."

"A troll? Is this one of those Halloween pranks? Because it's not funny if it is!"

"It's not a prank," Daphne cut in, "Professor Quirrell burst into the Great Hall during the Feast and yelled that there was a troll in the dungeon before fainting."

"So stay there," Harry added, "We will come to you so you don't have to be in the corridors alone."

"Okay," Hermione seemed a bit worried now. "Please hurry."

"We will, see you soon." Harry closed the Pokédex with a snap and pocketed the device. "Well, come on, let's go."

The trio started running down the hall. Each silently praying that they wouldn't be caught, and that the troll really was in the dungeon. They had just rounded the last corner when they heard a scream that made Harry's blood run cold. _That was Hermione! The troll found her!_

"Let's go, Hedwig!" The Tiny Bird Pokémon materialized in mid flight. "Go help Hermione anyway you can. QUICKLY!"

"Pidgey!" Hedwig took off down the hall much quicker than they were able to run. Harry berated himself for not sending her sooner.

As they made it to the door they could hear Hermione yell out battle commands.

"Lola, Swift! Hedwig, Gust!"

The awful smelling troll was blasted stars from one side and a small tornado from the other. Harry cursed under his breath when he saw the troll was between them and Hermione. Hedwig was circling its head trying to keep it occupied while Lola was standing in front of Hermione, protecting her. Lola looked like she had had already taken a hit.

"Come on, Trev"

"Scylla, we need you!"

Harry smiled, with his friends help they would be able to take down this thing. But first he needed to get Hermione out of there. "Neville, focus on trying to lower its defenses, that thing looks tough. Daphne distract it for me, then do what you can to help."

"What are you going to do?" She asked warily.

"Something stupid," Harry replied. "Hedwig, Sand-Attack! Keep it occupied!" Harry took off running towards the thing.

"Trev, Screech!"

"Aurora Beam Scylla, don't hit Harry though!"

Harry saw a rainbow colored beam sail pass his head as Trev also started his screech attack. Harry ignored both of these as he dove through the troll's legs, with the kind of reflexes that earned him the Seeker role on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He didn't look to see what damage the attacks had done.

"Hermione! Are you okay?" Harry asked as he landed next to her.

"I am, but Lola took a big hit before Hedwig got here," she looked worriedly at her familiar who was still standing between them and the troll, albeit breathing heavily.

Harry nodded, "We need to get past it. But I don't think we can do what I just did again."

"Then we need to blind it. If Lola and Hedwig use Sand-attack again, and Scylla uses her Smokescreen. That should be enough to keep it from seeing us, so we can sneak by it."

At this point they heard a crunch. Both looked up to see that the troll had hit Trev with its club. Luckily the Rock Skin Pokémon had activated its Iron Defense just in time, so the only thing that happened was the club breaking in two. The troll stared at the stump of its club with a dumbfound expression.

Harry sighed in relief, he had worried that one of their familiars had been badly hurt. "Will that work? Hedwig already hit it with Sand-attack and it doesn't seem to affected the thing at all."

"It should, as long as we can get all three attacks to hit its face it will work."

"Alright, here goes nothing," Harry said before turning to yell towards Daphne. "Daph, hit it with Scylla's Smoke Screen. We're going to try to blind it so that we can sneak back around it. Three… Two… One…"

"SAND-ATTACK!" Harry and Hermione cried in unison. While Daphne called out for Smokescreen. Neville had heard the plan and decided to add Screech to help them out.

All four attacks hit the troll's head simultaneously. This garbage can on legs staggered backwards into the line of stalls, creating an opening for Harry and Hermione. Harry grabbed her hand, "Let's go!" He cried as he dashed forward, pulling her along. A moment later the two of them, plus Lola, were standing next to Daphne and Neville.

"We need to keep it from following us," Daphne said as she watched the troll struggle to clear its vision. "Any ideas?"

"Let's hit it with our strongest ranged attacks. Hopefully that will knock it out." Harry suggested.

"I have a better idea," Neville spoke up. The others turned to him questioningly. The boy may have gained confidence over the past couple months but he wasn't the smartest person in their group. "Trust me. Just get out of this room."

"Okay Neville," Harry nodded. "Hedwig, hit it with a Gust then get out of there!" Harry commanded as he ushered the girls out of the room. As soon as they were out of the room Hermione bent over and scooped Lola into her arms. The Evolution Pokémon looked ready to faint.

"Trev, keep it here with Sandstorm!" Neville called out as Hedwig swooped into the hall. Her Gust had knocked the troll on its rear.

Harry's eyes widened in shock as a literal Sandstorm was whipped up inside the washroom in front of them. Trev calmly walked out of it and into the hallway.

"Vitar!" He cried happily.

"Goodwork Trev," he recalled the Pokémon. It was too slow to run on its own, and too heavy to carry. "Let's get out of here!"

The other three nodded and they all took off down the hallway. They didn't get far when Professor McGonagall rounded the corner with Ric. Professor Snape, Sal, and Headmaster Dumbledore were not far behind her. Harry relaxed as they stopped running. Finally they were safe.

Harry decided right then that he wasn't getting out of bed next Halloween.

0o00o0


	5. Chapter 5 - Time Flies

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own either Pokémon or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in the sandbox that they left open._

 _AN: Just a quick warning here. This chapter has a couple scenes featuring our favorite Headmaster. This is my attempt to clarify a few things with him. Let me know what you think about him in this story._

Chapter 5 - Time Flies

0o00o0

 **Headmaster's Office - November 9, 1991**

"That brat is more trouble than he is worth!" Snape sneered, "He couldn't even save himself today on the Quidditch Pitch. If I hadn't been countering the curse, your precious Chosen One would be dead. It was only luck that when that little hellion caught my robes on fire that it seemed to disrupt whoever was casting the curse as well."

Albus Dumbledore let his spy continue to rant about the Potter child. The events of today didn't really have any bearing on his plans so Albus was just pacifying the Potions Master by listening to him. While it was a concern that someone had targeted Harry, Albus was more surprised that an attempt on his life hadn't been made sooner. He popped a lemon drop into his mouth, the sweet and sour candy was his favorite!

" _I don't understand why you let this Professor talk about a child like this,_ " Zephyr communicated to him telepathically. Albus could feel Zephyr's annoyance through his bond with the Mystic Pokémon. The Xatu stood motionless next to him.

" _He has his uses,_ " Albus sent back, " _It is best to let him get it out of his system so he doesn't take it out on the child directly._ "

" _I suppose you are right_ ," Zephyr didn't sound too happy about it though.

"Are you even listening Albus?"

Dumbledore's eyes shot open at the accusation. He gave his Potion's Master his best grandfatherly look. "Forgive me Severus; I must have drifted off for a moment. What was it that you said?"

"I was asking if you found a way to get Ms. Greengrass out of that stupid Life Debt with the Potter brat," Snape growled out.

"Alas I have not," Dumbledore sighed. "Life Debts are very serious things. I was hoping that there had been something in the troll incident that would release her. But it seems that if anything, Ms. Granger now also owes Harry a Life Debt. Though since there were others involved, it is not as clear if she owes Harry, or anyone else, a Life Debt. Her magic doesn't seem to be demanding anything of her, but she was already friends with Harry and her other rescuers."

Snape snorted. "I'm sure that Potter was somehow responsible for little miss know-it-all to be there in the first place." And then Snape went into another rant, but about Ms. Granger this time. After all, she did just set his robes on fire.

Albus mentally sighed. Severus had brought up the biggest threat against his plans for Harry. It had only been a little more than two months, but somehow Harry had accumulated two Life Debts. There had to be a way to turn Ms. Greengrass's Life Debt to his advantage. Maybe he could use it to bring Lord Greengrass into the Light Alliance. Dumbledore quickly dismissed that thought, there was very little chance that that would work. Lord Greengrass was the most powerful person in the Gray Alliance. There was no way he would give up that power to join the Light. In any case, he could not allow Lord Greengrass to take advantage of the situation and seduce Harry away from the Light. That would be an unmitigated disaster!

For now all seemed stable. Ms. Greengrass didn't seem to be in any danger of losing her magic as long as she remained near Harry. In fact, she seemed to be genuinely enjoying spending time with him. If the friendship flourished maybe the Greengrass line could come to the Light through her. Yes, that was how he could use it. He may not be able to bring the current Lord Greengrass to the Light, but he could ensure the next generation of the Greengrass family joined the Light. Though he would also have to make sure the two didn't grow too close. He still needed Harry to marry Ms. Weasley. Molly would ensure the next generation of Potters remained firmly on the side of the Light.

Those were long term plans though that could be refined later. Right now he had a more immediate problem to deal with.

"I have a favor to ask of you Severus," Albus stated suddenly, cutting off Snape mid rant. "Whoever tried attacking Harry may do so again at his next match. I need you to referee the next Gryffindor Quidditch game."

Albus took great pleasure in seeing that Severus grimaced at his suggestion. The spy seemed to have an internal battle for a moment. Albus enjoyed watching the normally stoic Professor struggle with his emotions. The fact that Severus was still capable of such emotions was further proof that Albus made the right decision to offer him redemption by bringing him to the Light all those years ago.

"As you wish, Headmaster," Severus eventually replied.

"Thank you Severus," Albus reached for another Lemon Drop. "Lily would be happy that you are helping her son any way that you can." Albus was so pleased with himself that he didn't notice that his normally yellow candy was now red as he popped it into his mouth.

He may not have noticed the color change, but he did notice the different flavor. While his normal candy was usually sugary and a bit sour, this was spicy! Dumbledore tried to spit the candy out, but the spice caused him to start coughing. The Red Hot candy then lodged in his throat.

While this scene was unfolding (Severus trying to help the old Headmaster), Zephyr turned an eye toward the window. There, just outside the window, a pink feline creature was doing back flips in mid air. Celebi came up and high fived Mew before both disappeared.

Zephyr just mentally shook his head. He didn't know how the All-Father put up with those two and their antics. Not that he disapproved of them playing a prank on his Trainer; he just wished they wouldn't almost kill him in the process.

0o0o0

 **Library, Hogwarts – November 10, 1991**

Hermione distractedly flipped the page of the book she was supposedly reading. Daphne, Harry, and she had decided to work on their Transfiguration assignment in the Library together. Neville was helping Professor Sprout tend to a group of Bellsprouts that had decided to wander through the grounds. One of the Victreebels had decided to bond with Professor Sprout. Hermione knew that Neville was hoping that a Bellsprout would bond with him. She knew his love of Herbology would serve him well if he did manage to bond with one of the Grass Type Pokémon.

Discreetly she looked at her two study partners. Unlike her, they didn't seem to have a problem focusing on the assignment. She was then reminded of Lola's presence when the Evolution Pokémon suddenly hopped up into her lap.

"Vee?"

Hermione smiled at her familiar. She was eternally grateful that Madam Pince had relented finally and allowed their familiars to join them in the library. However, the strict Librarian had reserved the right to ban any Pokémon that disturbed the peace of her sanctum. Lola seemed to understand the importance of keeping this privilege because she was never very loud.

Hermione leaned down to whisper to the fox-like Pokémon. "Yes, I'm fine. There's just a lot on my mind."

"Eevee eev…"

"I suppose I am worried about him after yesterday's match, but that's not everything. I can't get what Hagrid told us afterwards out of my head. I think I need to find more information about this Nic-"

She cut herself off at the sound of coughing from the other side of the table. She jerked her head up; afraid it was Madam Pince come to reprimand her for talking in the Library. Her apology was caught in her throat, however, when she saw that it wasn't the Librarian.

"Erm… hi," the red headed boy greeted them nervously.

"What do _you_ want, Weasley?" Harry asked before Hermione could come up with a response. He and Daphne had both looked up at his cough as well. Hermione saw the Slytherin slip into her emotionless mask out of the corner of her eye. She tried her best to emulate the blonde, but she had only been working on Occlumency for a couple months. The best she was able to manage was to dull the revulsion she felt towards the red head. In her mind, he was the reason she was in that bathroom in the first place. She conveniently ignored the fact that she had chosen to stay there after Harry's visit.

Hermione was oddly pleased when Ronald winced at the tone of Harry's voice. "Well, I… you see… what I mean to say is…"

Hermione raised an eye at the flustered boy. He seemed to actually be speaking in her direction. "What is it Ronald? We are in the middle of studying for Transfiguration." She indicated the books on the table.

The bookworm suppressed a smile as he looked at the books with a nauseated expression. To her surprise though, he seemed to fight the reaction down and look at her again. "Right," he took a deep breath that seemed to steady his nerves. "I just wanted to apologize for what I said about you on Halloween." The trio stared at him in shock, even Daphne let her mask slip for a moment. None of them had expected this. Ron seemed to gather courage from their looks, oddly enough, and went on. "I saw what you did yesterday at the match to help Harry. It made me realize that you really are friends him. And also, there must be something to studying as hard as you do since you were able to conjure fire on the greasy haired dungeon bat, which was bloody brilliant... But anyway, I'm sorry about what I said, I was wrong." Ron bowed his head to await her judgment.

Hermione was shocked. She had long moved past the hurtful words that he said about her. At the time she hadn't considered that there was even a small chance that he would apologize to her. From what she had observed about him, he seemed very self absorbed. He always seemed to be worried about his next meal, or his next chess match, or when he would be able to sleep in. Never once had she seen him show any amount of consideration towards another person.

A glance towards Harry showed that he was just as surprised, though he did seem suspicious of the red head. Her look towards Daphne was a wasted effort as the blonde had slipped back into her emotionless mask after the initial shock. Hermione realized that both of them were leaving the decision to forgive him up to her. Hermione closed her eyes and quickly calculated all her possible responses, the many consequences of them, and how she felt about each scenario. She may not be proficient with Occlumency yet, but she wasn't called the Brightest Witch of Her Age for no reason. In a matter of a couple seconds she reached a decision. She opened her eyes and looked at the boy with a little more warmth than earlier.

"I forgive you, Ron."

The redhead exhaled his breath. Apparently he had been more nervous about her reaction than she had realized. Harry, though, looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Hermione just stared back at him and nodded slightly. Harry nodded just as slightly and turned back to face Weasley.

"Thanks!" Ron exclaimed quietly. He seemed ready to sit with them at their table now. Hermione however, didn't think they had progressed far enough to let the boy join them.

"This doesn't make us friends though," Hermione went on. This seemed to deflate the boy a bit, but he did stop his movement towards a chair. "However, that doesn't mean that we couldn't eventually become friends."

"Right, I understand," Ron nodded in response. He turned to leave, but seemed to think of something. He turned to face Harry this time. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What?" Harry asked, forcing himself not to growl. Hermione appreciated the effort on his part. She knew he had been more upset with Weasley than she ever had been. Though she had never been able to figure out why, and Harry would never give her a straight answer.

"Well," Ron started nervously, "when you were… telling me off. You said I had used a compulsion charm on you." Harry nodded. "You're wrong. I don't even know how to cast that charm. So there's no way I could have used it on you."

Harry stared at the boy. Hermione knew that the four of them had already worked out that Ron hadn't casted the spell. The raven haired Gryffindor hadn't been thinking clearly when he accused Weasley of doing so in the corridor. She realized that Harry didn't want Ron to know they already knew that though, thus his silence now.

"I guess you're right," Harry agreed slowly. "You couldn't have casted the spell. I'm sorry for accusing you of such."

Ron's only response was to nod in acceptance of the apology. Seeming to sense he had gained as much as he could, he turned and left them. The trio stared after him for a while before turning to each other.

"That was… intriguing," Daphne said to break the silence after a couple minutes.

"Agreed," Hermione responded. "I never once thought he would actually apologize to anyone."

"Yeah," Harry said distractedly. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them they seemed more focused than they had been since Ron left. "Hermione, before Weasley showed up, what were you distracted by? It's not like you to be behind us in writing."

Hermione looked down at her scroll in shock. She had fallen behind them! She hadn't realized she had been _that_ distracted.

"Well, I was thinking about what Hagrid told us yesterday. You know about Nicholas Flamel. I was thinking that I should look him up since we don't know anything about him."

"What do you mean we don't know anything about Nicholas Flamel?" Daphne asked. Then she slapped her forehead before Hermione could respond, "Of course you don't know! You both were Muggle Raised!" Daphne sighed as she closed her textbook. "Ok, so Nicholas Flamel is probably one of the most famous wizards ever. He is up there with Merlin and Dumbledore…" Daphne settled into a long explanation about the famed alchemist.

0o0o0

 **Unused Classroom - December 27, 1991**

Albus sighed as he waited for Harry to return for the third night in a row. As predicted, Harry was drawn to the Mirror of Erised. Things weren't going as smooth as he had hoped. He had all but given up on his plans to use Ronald as a way to keep Harry in the Light. He would give the last of the Potters a gentle push in the right direction tonight, but if it didn't work it would be time to move on to other plans. While he didn't have as much control over Longbottom, Albus knew that the boy would keep Harry on the right path. The influence of Ms. Greengrass was a little worrisome, but it seemed like she was coming to the Light instead of the other way around.

His tracking charms alerted him that Harry had just entered the room under his invisibility cloak. Albus hardly needed the tracking charm on the cloak because Harry threw off the cloak almost as soon as he was in the room. Dumbledore allowed the boy to stare into the mirror for a while. He wished he was still that young and full of innocence. It was moments like this that reminded him why his plan was necessary. Harry deserved to have a childhood before he faced his destiny. He didn't need to be burdened with such concepts as Lordships and the political aspects that come with that.

Dumbledore decided to make himself known, so he stepped forward as he canceled the Disillusionment Charm on himself. "So back again, Harry?"

Harry spun around holding something, but stopped when he saw who it was. Albus noticed that the boy had a hold of his familiar's Pokécoin instead of his wand. _Interesting_ , he thought to himself, _the boy prefers to defend himself with that Pidgey of his instead of his wand_. He decided to deal with the implications of that later.

"I - I didn't see you, sir." Harry looked suspicious, but Albus knew he was just trying to cover up the embarrassment of being caught.

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," Albus gave the boy his best grandfatherly smile. This seemed to relax Harry a bit. "So, you like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"Mirror of Erised, huh?" Harry turned back to the mirror in question. "Makes sense..."

"I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

"Yes sir," Harry nodded, "it shows the heart's desire."

"That is correct Harry," Albus was impressed despite himself. "How did you arrive at that conclusion? Most assume it shows the future."

Harry pointed to the top of the mirror. "It says so right there. _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on woshi_. Or if you read it backwards, like reading in a mirror, it says _I show not your face but your hearts desire_."

"I would give you points for that observation. But then I would have to take points away for you being out of bed after curfew as well," Dumbledore smiled down at the boy, who was now blushing in embarrassment. "The Mirror of Erised shows us our deepest, most desperate desires. You not having known your family, see them standing around you. If young Ronald were to stand there he would see his family noticing him, instead of being overshadowed by his elder brothers."

Albus watched Harry's face closely. He saw the vivid look of disgust when Ron's name had first been mentioned. But by time Dumbledore had finished speaking he noticed the look had softened and even had a hint of sympathy. Albus was tempted to try casting a Compulsion Charm to speed things along. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Yes he had tried to once by interlaying the magic in some trigger words that could be spoken by Ronald. But he had not felt comfortable doing that, and in truth felt relieved that that hadn't worked. Even if it set back his plans a bit.

"I see," Harry said slowly, unknowingly bringing Dumbledore back to the present.

"However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible. The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever _do_ run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now why don't you put that admirable Cloak back on and get off to bed?"

Harry stood and picked up his cloak and turned to make his way out of the room. Then he stopped and turned to face Dumbledore again. "Sir - Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore answered with a slight chuckled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I?" Albus forced himself not to frown as he turned to face the mirror. Ariana smiled back at him from the mirror. "I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."

Albus turned away from the mirror and saw that Harry looked dumbstruck. This caused him to chuckle once again. "One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People insist on giving me books."

As Harry nodded and swung the invisibility cloak on, Albus saw a flash of silver on the boys hand that caused him to freeze. That couldn't have been the Potter Heir ring could it? How could he have gotten it? Even if Ms. Greengrass and Mr. Longbottom were teaching him about the House system he couldn't have left the grounds to retrieve his Heir ring. Albus had expected Harry to learn about his Lordship after Greengrass entered the picture, even if he felt the boy didn't need the burden. He had been hoping at the end of the year to have a chat with Harry before letting him return to his Muggle Guardians.

However, the only way he could have that ring is if someone had been interfering with his plans much longer than the semester. Which meant someone knew about his plans and was actively working against them.

Albus took a deep breath. He didn't need to get ahead of himself. First he needed to confirm if what he saw was actually the Potter Heir ring. It could have been anything after all. If in fact it was the Heir ring, he would then need to pay a visit in person to Privet Drive. From there he would work out what needed to be done.

Before leaving, he looked once more at the Mirror. It was so tempting to stay here and chat with Ariana… Albus shook himself out of it. It was time to go. With that, he swept out of the room. His plans were possibly ruined, but he needed to confirm that was the case before he made any counter moves.

0o0o0

 **Gryffindor Common Room - February 13, 1992**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUNA!" Harry exclaimed to the blonde as soon as she answered her Pokédex.

"Thank you Harry Potter," Luna beamed.

"Did you get my present?"

Luna held up her hand in response. There a shiny new silver bracelet adorned her wrist. "I love the crescent moon charm! It's perfect!"

"I knew you would like it," Harry smiled. "It also has a couple protective charms on it. They won't block anything powerful, but it should work against simple jinxes."

Luna's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Really?! That's fantastic! Thank you so much Harry!"

"I'm glad you like it," Harry continued to smile at the enthusiastic blonde. "How is Caspian doing?"

"Oh," Luna's grin grew even wider, if such a thing was even possible, "Caspian got cold and decided to wrap himself in his own silk to keep warm!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde girl. After talking to the eccentric girl every day for a year he knew when she was playing games with her words. "What exactly does that mean, birthday girl?"

"I'm telling the truth," she said with very innocent eyes. "Here, see for yourself." A second later she was holding up a spherical shape of silk with triangular red eyes.

"Cascoon!"

"Caspian… evolved?!" Harry asked excitedly. "When did it happen? How did it happen? What was it like?" They all knew their Pokémon familiars could change, or evolve as the Pokédex called it. What they couldn't find in their Pokédex was what their Pokémon would evolve into or what the process was or when it would happen.

"Yep!" She popped the 'p' at the end.

"Cascoon!"

"You didn't answer my questions," Harry sighed.

"Oh," she tapped her chin in thought. "This morning, don't know, and bright."

Harry rubbed his eyes in exasperation. He really should be used to her by now, he really should be. "O… k…" He decided it was time to move on because he knew she wouldn't share anymore if she didn't want to. Luckily Neville and Hermione choose that moment to sit on either side of him.

"Happy Birthday!" They said in unison.

"Thank you, Neville and Hermione," she said serenely.

The four of them chatted for a while before Luna suddenly changed the topic.

"So how is Fluffy doing?"

Hermione scrunched up her face, "I still can't believe Hagrid named that Cerberus 'Fluffy' of all things."

"I'm sure Harry has told you we know he is guarding the Philosopher's Stone," Neville answered with a shrug, while also ignoring Hermione's rant.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "Good thing you two and Daphne grew up in the wizarding world. Hermione and I had never heard of Nicholas Flamel."

"And we still wouldn't have known much about him either," Hermione continued. "The library appears to have been purged of all references to him. All except for one little paragraph in a rather large tome I found that is." She looked insulted that there was information missing from the library.

"I still think it's odd that the Professors have set up an obstacle course," Harry thought out loud, "I mean, if you are trying to keep something secure wouldn't it be better to set up wards?"

"Wards aren't perfect though," Neville pointed out. "They can be brought down given enough time or power."

"True," Harry relented. "But we already know how to deal with Fluffy. I bet we could also figure out the other protections if we went through the trapdoor to see what they were. And we don't even have a full year of magical schooling yet. I mean, if we can do it, what is to stop someone like Snape?"

"Guys!" Luna shouted, regaining the trio's attention. "I know all that already. I just wanted to know how Fluffy is doing!"

Harry laughed while Hermione shook her head and Neville turned red in embarrassment.

"Last we checked, Fluffy was just fine," Harry answered after he calmed down. "I can't wait for you to meet Hagrid. You two are just a like."

"I like Hagrid," she said dreamily. "Daddy has helped him write a few articles for _The Quibbler_. Hagrid really knows his Category XXXX and XXXXX Creatures!"

Hermione blinked in surprise. "I didn't know Hagrid wrote any articles for your dad's magazine."

"Well, he doesn't really write them," she answered. "Daddy does most of the writing. Hagrid usually just has an idea for an article and provides a bunch of facts. But Daddy always gives Hagrid the by-line anyway."

Harry smiled, "That's nice of your father." To him, that was just more proof of how great of a dad Xeno Lovegood really was.

The four chatted for a while longer before Luna yawned long enough to make Harry order her to go to bed. Harry said goodnight to the other two as well. While Hermione and Neville were planning on staying up longer to go over Neville's Potion essay, Harry decided he should get some sleep himself. Wood had been running the team hard in their practices recently. Their game against Hufflepuff was just next week, and Oliver was determined they were going to beat the Puffs. Which was fine by Harry, it just wore him out. Thoughts of winning the Quidditch House Cup filled his head as he laid down to sleep.

0o0o0

 **Hagrid's Hut, Hogwarts - April 24, 1992**

Harry knocked on the door to the hut when he found, to his surprise, that the door was locked. Neville and Hermione exchanged looks behind him as Fang barked at the door. Daphne had her public mask on just behind them.

"Back, Fang! Back!" The four friends could hear Hagrid yelling from the other side of the door.

The door opened just wide enough for Hagrid to stick his head out. "Who's there?"

"It's just us Hagrid," Harry replied. "You asked us to come down, remember?"

Hagrid nodded distractedly and ushered the four of them in. Once they were all inside Hagrid shut and locked the door. The first thing they noticed was how warm it was in the little shack. A fire was blazing in the hearth even though it was a fairly warm day outside.

"Hagrid, why is it so hot in here?" Hermione asked.

"Hmm? Didn't notice," Hagrid half answered, half muttered. "Anyone want any Tea or Biscuits?"

They all took the half giant up on the offer of tea, but not biscuits. They all had experienced Hagrid's baking before. So Hagrid set about preparing the tea.

"Seriously, why is it so warm in here?" Daphne re-asked Hermione's earlier question. She had dropped her emotionless mask once they were safely in Hagrid's Hut. "I am thinking about having Scylla use her Aurora Beam on me!"

"It's not that warm in here," Hagrid said as he handed out the mismatched mugs filled with tea.

"So, why did you ask us to come down here?" Harry asked to change the subject. He knew when someone was being stubborn. "You seemed pretty nervous in the Library earlier today."

"About that," Hagrid turned nervous again. "You see, I-"

"What is that?" Neville asked, cutting him off. "Is that an egg?"

Harry turned towards the fire, where Neville was pointing, and saw that he was right. Tucked in amongst the coals was a red, blue, and yellow egg.

"Yes it is," Hagrid answered. "It's also why I asked you lot here."

"What kind of egg needs kept in a fire?" Hermione asked.

The egg looked like a Pokémon egg to Harry. But since starting Hogwarts, he had learned that many magical animals laid oddly colored and sized eggs. So it could be anything. Actually, Harry had a pretty good guess what it could be.

"Hagrid, is that a dragon egg?" Harry asked, causing everyone to turn to stare at him. The two purebloods were dumbfounded, Hermione's eyes had grown as large as Luna's, and Hagrid looked a bit proud.

"That it is," Hagrid answered with a Dumbledore-like twinkle in his eye.

"H-how?" Neville stuttered. "How did you get it? Dragons and their eggs are banned by the Ministry of Magic!"

"I won it down at the pub," Hagrid answered simply as he searched next to fireplace for something.

"You won it?" Harry asked incredulously.

"At a pub?" Hermione seemed to have finally regained her voice.

"Well yeah," Hagrid said, turning back to the four of them. "The Hog's Head, down in Hogsmeade, draws all sorts of folks. Some of them aren't the most savory of characters. But they won't bother you if you don't bother them."

The four first years continued to stare at the egg in the fire as Hagrid turned back to continue looking for… something. After a few moments of rustling around he finally straightened up, holding a giant pair of tongs.

"Here we are," Hagrid said as he turned towards the fire. Being very gentle, he grabbed the egg with the tongs and gently moved it to the table. He carefully set the egg down on a pile of rags that looked like they had been arranged in a makeshift nest. The four followed him to the table and surrounded it. They all stared at the egg for a moment, none of them were sure what to expect. Not one of them, though, expected that nothing would happen.

"Huh," Hagrid rocked back on his heels. "That's odd. It should be hatching by now. I've done everything right." Hagrid started flipping through a book that was sitting near the nest, mumbling to himself.

The action reminded Harry of the way Hermione got when she was cross checking her homework. This thought almost made him laugh out loud. However, he had a nagging suspicion that wouldn't leave him alone.

"Hagrid?" Harry asked to get his first friend's attention. "Have you touched the egg yet? You know, with your bare skin?"

"No," Hagrid looked up at the green eyed boy. "It was wrapped in a package when I got it, and I put it in the fire still wrapped like that… Why?"

"You don't think…" Daphne whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear her.

"Yeah, I do," Harry nodded. "Hagrid, you should touch it. If I am right then that should make it hatch."

"Makes sense," Neville caught on, "I've never seen a dragon egg with markings like that."

"And where have you seen dragon eggs before?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Books," Neville said with a shrug. Hermione cheeks turned a bit pink from the simple explanation.

"I doubt you would have seen this in any normal book about dragons," Hagrid said a little smugly. "The coloring is very similar to the descriptions of a few Norwegian Ridgebacks. It's very rare and hasn't been seen in over a century."

"Hagrid," Harry regained the big guy's attention. "Touch the egg."

"Harry, that egg just came out of the fire," Daphne said thoughtfully. "Won't it burn him?"

"Again, if I am right it shouldn't," Harry shrugged. "But I could be wrong. If that's the case I'm sure Hermione knows a spell that can fix minor burns."

In response, the Brightest Witch of Her Age nodded, "Yeah, it's fairly simple actually."

"Well, if you are sure," Hagrid looked at each pre-teen in turn before looking down at the egg in its makeshift nest. "I s'pose it's worth a try." He reached down with one of his large hands and rested it on top of the egg. As soon as his hand made contact the egg began to glow white.

"I knew it," Harry exclaimed under his breath with a smile.

Everyone, except for Hagrid, took a couple steps back as the blinding light started growing… and growing.

"Set it on the floor Hagrid! Hurry!" Daphne yelled out.

The half giant snapped out of his staring and realized what Daphne meant. Before it could get much bigger than a couple feet he had swept the 'hatching' egg up and placed it on the ground. At least the table was safe… though, now Harry started to worry about the ceiling as the light continued to grow. If this was a dragon Pokémon there was no telling how big it would be. Soon the forming figure was taller than he was, thankfully it stopped shortly afterwards. But even then it barely was half the height of Hagrid.

Harry could only stare as the light faded. It certainly looked like a dragon, but it had the most unusual coloring he had ever seen on anything. Most of its body was blue, except for a yellow stomach, and red colored head.

"Druddigon," it rumbled with a deep voice. The Pokémon looked up and stared Hagrid in the eyes.

"Wow," Hagrid said not taking his eyes off the hatchling. "What is he?"

Harry's response was to pull out his Pokédex and scan the newly hatched dragon.

 _Druddigon_

 _The Cave Pokémon_

 _Female_

 _Type: Dragon_

 _Entry: It races through narrow caves, using its sharp claws to catch prey. The skin on its face is harder than a rock._

"Well," Harry said looking up. "SHE is a Druddigon… and she appears to want to be your familiar."

"Really? What do I do?"

"Let your magic guide you," Daphne replied for Harry.

Hagrid turned away from the Druddigon hatchling to look at Daphne with a terrified expression, "But I can't-"

"The Ministry banned you from using a wand," Daphne cut him off. "They didn't take away your magic."

"And I know you can still have access to your magic," Harry grinned. The memory of Dudley with a pig tail was still one of favorites.

Hagrid nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. Harry held his breath; he was excited for his first friend. Bonding with Hedwig had been the best thing to ever happen to him, even better than finding out he was a wizard. Harry wanted Hagrid to experience that same connection he had with Hedwig.

After a couple tense moments of silence, Hagrid opened his eyes and looked down at the Druddigon.

"I, Rubeus Hagrid, accept this Druddigon as my Pokémon familiar. We will make our caves, our homes, safe together. So Mote It Be."

Harry grinned as Hagrid started to blink rapidly. He vividly remembered the feeling of the magic washing over him. The Druddigon seemed a bit agitated as well, but shook it off.

The four congratulated Hagrid on the bonding with Druddigon.

"So what are you naming her?" Hermione asked as they started getting ready to leave.

"Well," Hagrid looked at Druddigon, "How about Norberta?"

"Drud!"

"Norberta it is!" Hagrid beamed at his new familiar. Everyone laughed and congratulated the two of them again.

None of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them through a crack in the window curtains. "Even the oaf has one now," the mystery person whispered. "How do I get one?" Noticing that the four were about to leave, the person decided it was time to leave as well. There would be another day to follow them.

0o00o0


	6. Chapter 6 - Disaster in the Forest

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own either Pokémon or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in the sandbox that they left open._

Chapter 6 - Disaster in the Forest

0o00o0

 **Great Hall, Hogwarts - May 25, 1992**

"Are you sure you want to do this Harry?"

"Absolutely," Harry said determinedly. "You have been sitting with us at the Gryffindor table all year. It's time we sat with you at your table."

Daphne sighed. They had been discussing this since they met up in the Entrance Hall. Now that they were standing just inside the doors of the Great Hall, Harry refused to take a step towards the Gryffindor's table. The reason they always sat amongst the Lions when they decided to eat together was because she had been stalling all of Harry's attempts to sit with the Snakes. It looked like she had finally ran out of ways to avoid it though. She tried stalling just a bit longer by staring at her friend with an impassive face. Harry, for his part, seemed completely unfazed as he stared back at her with the stupid lopsided grin.

"Fine," she slipped into her mask, "but don't blame me when Professor Snape takes away all of the Gryffindor House Points for this."

Harry snorted at the thought, even though he knew it was entirely plausible. Seriously, what was the old bat's problem anyway? He looked around at the others. "You guys don't have to join us. I'm going because I'm a bloody idiot."

"Language Harry," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course I am going with you. Daphne is my friend too."

"I'm not a Gryffindor for nothing," Neville shrugged. "Sitting amongst the Snakes for a meal should certainly prove that."

"What are we proving?" Susan asked as she stepped inside the Great Hall, only catching the tail end of Neville's comment.

"That they don't care about winning the House Cup," Daphne said stoically. Even though she liked the strawberry blonde girl, Daphne still only really let her guard down around her three closest friends. That didn't mean she wouldn't make smart aleck responses though.

"Oh, so Harry finally convinced you to let him sit with you?" Susan smiled at them. "Can I join you? Hannah decided to have a lie in today and there is no way I can miss this!"

"Sure, the more the merrier," Harry exclaimed. "Now lead on Daphne!"

Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. It was the one of the few emotions she allowed to show in public. Not that anyone could blame her for this particular emotion since she had to put up with three Gryffindors all the time. Though, she wouldn't trade this for the world.

"It's your own funeral," She said as she turned away. Utilizing every bit of her training as Heiress of a Noble and Ancient House, she began walking towards the Slytherin House table.

Having only sat with the Snakes a handful of times since September she wasn't entirely sure what seating arrangement the very political house had settled into. She did, however, know the general alliances within her house. Luckily for her, the seating arrangements seemed to follow suit. Some people would call these gatherings as cliques or groups of friends. Those people would be wrong. People in her house generally did not make friends with a large group of people. They usually had one or two close friends, everyone else were associates that could be utilized to their own desires. A small part of wished to prove herself in that atmosphere. If given the chance she knew she could excel at getting what she wanted out of others, while making them believe it was what they had been wanting. The much larger part of her was thankful that she had managed to escape that via her Life Debt to Harry. She had actual friends now that she could rely on without worrying if they would stab her in the back.

Daphne made her way down the aisle between the Slytherin tables and the wall. She was not unaware that conversations stopped as she passed, only to restart as the three Lions and single Badger had passed by. Finally she spotted her target sitting near the middle of the long table. Thankfully there was enough space for her and her companions to join him.

She ignored the Malfoy's look of incredulity as she sat next to him. Harry sat next to her, and Susan on the other side of him, while Neville and Hermione sat across from them. Daphne was vividly aware of the silence around them and the stares they were receiving. Though whether it was out of ignorance, stupidity, or bravery the Gryffindors continued their conversation with each other as if they hadn't just walked into hostile territory and sat amongst the enemy. Even Susan seemed focused on the conversation, though out of the four she was easily the most visibly nervous.

"Can you believe the Ministry tried to take Norberta away from Hagrid, again?" Neville asked.

"Crazy, right? When will they learn?" Harry nodded his agreement.

"Well, what I can't believe is how they tried this time. To say that since he acquired Norberta's egg under the assumption that it was actually a dragon's egg that he had to hand her over to them. That is the craziest logic I've ever heard" Hermione said after she loaded her plate with fruits.

"That was only after claiming that he wasn't a fully fledged wizard, so therefore he wasn't entitled to a familiar," Harry snorted.

"My favorite was them trying to say that Norberta was a XXXXX class creature. She may be a very strong Pokémon, but I don't think she is in the same class as a Nundu," Neville added

"Yeah, it's a good thing only the ICW can set creature classifications," Susan nodded. While she may not hang out with the four all the time, she and Hannah frequently studied with them. So Susan was up to date with all the happenings of the group.

"I think we are lucky that the Ministry hasn't found a way to ban our Pokémon yet," Hermione bit her lower lip in contemplation.

"Won't happen," Neville waved off the worry. "Laws about Familiars were created by Merlin himself. If there is one thing the Ministry values, it's tradition. And it doesn't get more traditional than Merlin."

"But still…" Hermione rubbed her bracelet that she got for Christmas from Daphne. It was capable of holding Pokécoins just like her own. Daphne saw that Lola's coin was the focus of the girl's worrying hands.

"Besides," Susan added, "even if the Ministry wanted to change those laws, they couldn't. Merlin wove his own magic into the laws he set forth. Professor Dumbledore, considered the most magically gifted wizard since Merlin, doesn't have a fraction of Merlin's ability. Even if Dumbledore and the ENTIRE Wizengamot worked together could they undo one of Merlin's laws."

"Greengrass?"

"Yes, Malfoy?" Daphne said turning to the pale boy next to her. She noted with some small satisfaction that he still looked very confused.

"What are you and your friends doing here?" Malfoy eventually asked. He seemed genuinely curious.

"Yes, I would very much like to know that myself."

If Daphne didn't have such extreme control over her emotions she would have growled at the sound of the voice coming from behind her. Theo Nott may not be as bad as Snape but it was a near thing. Though she supposed she could be biased against him.

"Does it matter?" Harry retorted as he took another bite of egg. "We can sit wherever we want."

Daphne wanted to slap the stupid Gryffindor, but before she could do anything the Nott heir was already replying.

"Stupid Lion," Nott replied angrily. "You have no right to sit here. Only the best can sit here."

Daphne blinked and looked around. After doing so, she wanted to slap herself instead of her friend. How could she have missed that had sat them in the exact center of the table, the position where only the most respected of the House were allowed to sit.

She very much doubted that Nott was the one allowed by the House to sit there, so either the position was either in flux or the title holder had not come to breakfast. The Greengrass Heiress had been so focused on finding the one friendly face in the House that she had not paid attention to where they had ended up. _Wait,_ she thought suddenly, _since when did Malfoy gain enough influence to sit this close to the center? Have I really been that oblivious?_

While Daphne was mentally berating herself, Harry had sat his fork down and turned to face the much larger Slytherin. "Who decides that? Is everyone in some sort of seating arrangement? Seems a little childish if you ask me."

"How dare you!" Nott spat out. "Just because you are the Boy-Who-Lived you think you can get away with whatever you want."

Daphne mentally groaned as Harry stood to face the boy. Nott had used the dreaded nickname. All rational thought would now have vanished from the Gryffindor's head. So she did something that made her realize she had been hanging around Gryffindor's too much. Daphne stood and faced the Nott heir alongside Harry. She was mildly surprised to see Susan do the same on the other side of her friend.

"Don't call me that," Harry growled out. Daphne was racking her brain on how to get Harry out of there before he attacked.

"What," Nott smirked, "don't like your fame all of a sudden?"

"Just don't call me that," Harry was agitated now.

"Whatever," Nott scoffed, "The son of a mudblood doesn't deserve that kind of fame."

The blood drained from Daphne's face. Nott had pushed Harry too far. Now there was nothing she would be able to do. She tried to slip her wand into her hand, but for some reason it was stuck in her wrist holster.

"That same _mudblood_ ," Harry spat out the word, "was able to defeat your supposed Dark Lord."

"Liar!" Nott flicked his wrist, causing his wand to appear in his hand. He was just raising his arm when all hell suddenly broke loose.

A streak of white feathers flew over Daphne and crashed into Nott. A buzzing sound filled the air as Nott was then hit by a series of colorful circles. A moment later the boy was struck again, this time by a rainbow beam that caused him to frost over.

Daphne's jaw dropped, that rainbow beam was unmistakable. She looked down and sure enough, cradled in her arms was Scylla. The Dragon Pokémon had changed out of her Pokécoin form to defend her Trainer. Daphne must have instinctively wrapped her arms around the water Pokémon when she appeared. Looking to her friends she saw that the white feathered streak had belonged to Hedwig and there hovering next to Susan was Marie the Ledyba.

"POTTER!"

Daphne gulped and turned to see her Head of House, the Deputy Headmistress and Professor Dumbledore heading towards them.

 _Great,_ Daphne thought to herself, _not only am I exposed as a Trainer, but I am probably going to get kicked out of Hogwarts for this… At least I stuck up for my friend_.

0o0o0

 **Hagrid's Hut - May 26, 1992**

Harry walked along with Susan and Daphne as they followed Professor McGonagall down to Hagrid's place. He couldn't believe his luck. Not only was he serving detention with two of his friends, but also under the supervision of his first friend. As far as punishments go, this wasn't so bad.

"Why do we have to go into the Forbidden Forest? Isn't it, ya know, Forbidden?"

And there was the voice of the one downside of this detention so far. Somehow, Ron Weasley had earned a detention earlier in the day. So Professor McGonagall thought it best to have him go with them to help Hagrid.

McGonagall had apparently decided it wasn't worth answering him. He had been whining ever since they left her office. After a few more questions, Ron seemed to get the hint and remained quiet.

The silence gave Harry time to think. The past two days had been strange. Somehow, Harry was both loved and hated amongst his fellow Gryffindors. On one hand, his familiar had attacked a slimy Slytherin. Most of his housemates saw it as sweet revenge for all the torment they had been through by the hands of the Snakes. On the other hand, he was practically outcasted by his House. Harry was solely responsible for losing Gryffindor a total of One Hundred and Fifty points. Harry almost laughed out loud when a voice in his head, closely resembling Hermione's, reminded him that it was actually One Hundred and Eighty points. Neville and Hermione had lost points for drawing their wands on a fellow student.

Then there was Daphne's situation. He glanced over at her and as expected saw that she was emotionless. Her being exposed as a Pokémon Trainer had almost been lost in yesterday's chaos. Almost. The Hogwarts Rumor Mill had eventually remembered that detail and word quickly spread throughout the castle. What had shocked Harry the most though had been the lack of reaction of everyone, even from her fellow Slytherins.

Malfoy had caught up with him after dinner earlier and let him know why no one was reacting negatively to Daphne having a Pokémon. Everyone in Slytherin already knew about Scylla! According to him, more people than they realized had been paying attention on the train platform at the beginning of the year. This news had left all four of them speechless in the corridor. Malfoy had given them his best arrogant smirk before taking his leave. Harry had actually slapped his own forehead at that point.

"Thank you Professor, I can handle them from here."

Harry was brought out of his musings when they arrived at Hagrid's Hut.

"Hagrid, they may be being punished, but I expect them all back in one piece. Understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Hagrid saluted her, crossbow at the ready.

"Druddigon drud," Norberta mimicked her trainer.

Harry just barely kept himself from laughing at the Dragon Type's antics. Mcgonagall narrowed her eyes at the Groundskeeper. "Very well, I will see you all in three hours time," she nodded before spinning on her heel and walking back towards the castle.

"Alright you lot," Hagrid addressed the four students now. "You will be helping me with something special tonight. Our unicorn herd has been attacked recently. We are going to try and track down any clues on what might have done it." Hagrid ignored the shocked expressions of the group and continued to talk. "Now, to cover more ground we are going to split into two groups. Susan and Daphne, you will be with me. Harry and Ron, you'll go with Fang."

"We get Norberta!" Ron squeaked.

"Sorry, she will be in the air keeping an eye on both of our groups," Hagrid rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, it would be mighty helpful if you guys used your Pokémon as well. We could sure use Hedwig's Keen Eyes ability."

"Right," Harry nodded, "Let's go, Hedwig!" A short red beam later and the Tiny Bird Pokémon was on his shoulder.

"You too Marie!" Susan called out and a moment later the Five Star Pokémon was hovering in the air next to her.

"Scylla!" Daphne simply stated causing the Dragon Pokémon to appear in her arms. "I don't think she can help the search but she can help defend us from anything in the forest."

"Horsea!"

"That's just fine," Hagrid said before turning to the forest. "Alright you lot, let's head out! He don't have all night!"

With Hedwig circling their heads, Harry and Ron made their way into the forest with Fang. Hagrid, Susan, and Daphne entered the forest a bit further away, while Norberta took to the sky above the tree canopy. Every so often Harry could see her through the tops of the trees as she made her rounds. The two boys let Fang lead them, the old dog seemed to know his way around the forest. Harry hoped that the redhead would remain quiet the entire time. He had a lot on his mind that he still needed to sort through. But, alas, it was not meant to be.

"So what do ya reckon is attacking the Unicorns?" Ron asked aloud.

"No idea," Harry answered as he dodged under a tree branch. "Whatever it is can't be nice though. It would have to be something awful vile to attack a unicorn, right?"

"Right," Ron sounded more frightened now. "And we are suppose to be looking for this thing?"

"Actually, that's a good point," Harry stopped in his tracks. "Why are they having us search for whatever is attacking Unicorns?"

"Dunno," Ron said over his shoulder. "But I really don't care either. The sooner we finish this the sooner we can get out of here."

Harry looked up to where Hedwig had perched on a branch above him. "Stay close girl, I suddenly have a bad feeling about this little adventure."

"Pidg," she called out in agreement.

Harry had to run a little ways to catch up with Ron and Fang. They continued their walk through the forest in silence for a few minutes. Harry was just starting to relax when Ron started screaming.

"Get it off! Get it off! Get it OFF!" He shouted, waving his arms around like a madman.

Harry couldn't see what was wrong, but he drew his wand anyway. "What is it Ron? What's attacking you?"

Ron suddenly froze, as if he had been hit by Scylla's Aurora Beam. "Get… it… off!" He said very stiffly. It was only then that Harry could see what the problem was. Ron must have walked through a web because on his face was a black spider, about the size of Hedwig's Pokécoin form.

"It's just a spider, Ron," Harry started to chuckle.

"I… HATE… spiders!" His eyes grew wider as the spider moved to his forehead.

"Okay, okay!" Harry leveled his wand at Ron's face. "Just relax a second, will ya? _Wingardium Leviosa_." Harry almost lost his concentration when he realized he was using the same spell that had been the root cause of the conflict on Halloween. He didn't though and the little spider easily floated off of Ron. Harry guided the little arachnid over to a bush and cancelled the spell. "See? No harm done."

"Easy for you to say mate," Ron grumbled. "You didn't have a huge tarantula on your face."

Harry scoffed, "It was hardly that big." He was smiling despite himself though. Ron may be an idiot and a git at times, but Harry was starting to see a different side to the boy.

"Again, it wasn't on your face," Ron sighed. "Let's just get this over with. I want to get back to bed as soon as bloody possible."

"After you Ron," Harry gestured towards Fang. But the redhead didn't move. "What? Is it another spider?"

"No, it's just that…" Ron smiled a bit, "I think that's the first time you haven't called me Weasley."

Harry quirked an eyebrow at him, "If you're going to make a big deal out of it I can go back to calling you Weasley, Weasley."

Ron quickly shook his head. "No, no, I was just surprised is all," he quickly said before walking to join Fang.

Harry sighed, hopefully the slip of his tongue didn't cause Ron to think they were now best buds.

0o0o0

An hour later and the two boys, plus Fang, still hadn't seen anything.

"I don't think we are having any luck with this search," Harry said at last. The pair had remained fairly quiet since the spider incident.

"You're right, let's head back," Ron agreed eagerly.

"Okay, let's check that clearing up ahead first and then we will try to find our way out."

"Pidg," Hedwig said from his shoulder.

When they stepped out of the tree line and into the clearing they were greeted by a terrible sight that made them freeze where they stood. On the other side of the moonlit clearing was one of the unicorns they had been searching for… laying on the ground… and a hooded figure stooped over it facing away from them. Ron took a step back in fright, unfortunately he stepped on a twig causing a rather loud snapping sound to echo around the clearing. Harry swore that magic somehow made the sound a lot louder than it should have been. There was no way that the figure didn't hear that.

Harry's fear came to pass when the black hood swiveled around to face them. It seemed to lock onto him in particular as if it recognized him.

"AHHHH!" Ron screamed, "Run!"

And the redhead did just that. A second later Ron had disappeared back the way they had came along with Fang. Harry however felt as if he was rooted to the spot, he couldn't stop staring at the monstrosity in front of him. The totally black figure had a trickle of silver running down from where Harry assumed its mouth was. Then it started flying across the clearing towards him, reaching out to him with malicious intent.

"PIDGEY," Hedwig cried as she leapt off of Harry's shoulder. She glowed white for a moment before suddenly dashing at the thing. He recognized it as her Quick Attack. The Tiny Bird Pokémon must have realized that the figure was racing towards them so fast that the only move she could react with in time was her Quick Attack.

Sadly, the decision was a mistake. The figure knocked the charging Pokémon aside with a casual swipe of its free hand. A scream tore through the clearing as Hedwig was sent tumbling into a tree and disappeared into the bushes below. It was only then that Harry realized that the screaming was coming from him. He managed to shut his mouth to stop the horrendous sound.

The thing was almost upon him now. Harry could only stand there, staring, knowing that he was about to die. The black figure had just killed a Unicorn, one of the purest things on the planet. Not only that but it had just knocked away his familiar as if she was a mere bug. What was to stop it from killing him now?

His answer came in the form of a white blur. At first Harry thought it was Hedwig, recovered in time to help him. That thought evaporated though when a dog like creature stood in front of him.

' _Razor Wind!_ ' A feminine voice commanded.

The dog like creature glowed white for a moment, before swinging its head down. Harry felt the wind pick up in that instant but it was what he saw that amazed him. Two white circular blades formed out of nowhere and crashed into the black figure at short range with a super high velocity. The impact was so strong that the black figure was thrown all the way across the clearing, over the Unicorn and into the brush on the other side.

Harry remained tense for a moment, worried that the thing would try to attack again. When all was silent for a few moments, he took off running in the direction he had last seen his familiar. Hedwig had to be alright, she just had to be. He allowed the bond to guide him to her, only then realizing that if the bond was still there then his familiar was still alive. After jumping over a bush he skidded to a halt. There at the base of a tree was Hedwig.

Her wings were spread out as she laid on her back. Her feathers were looked like she had been in a tornadoe. Harry absently thought that Hedwig would be spending the next 8 hours fixing them back to her liking, he was sure she would be more than a little irritated with them for being out of place.

"Pi… dg…" The Tiny Bird Pokémon was so quiet that Harry almost missed it.

"It's okay Hedwig," Harry said as he knelt down next to her. "I'm here. You're going to be just fine." He really wished Hermione was there. She would know a spell that would help.

' _Here, give her this._ '

Harry spun around ready to defend his familiar, only to be greeted by his rescuer. He noted that his earlier assessment of "dog like" had been incorrect. Now that he could see the Pokémon's (for what else could it be) face he could clearly see that it had feline features with red eyes. It's dark blue skin was mostly covered in white fur. The most unique feature about this Pokémon though was the scythe like horn on the side of its head.

' _Hurry, it may come back._ ' The large cat like Pokémon lowered its head and nudged a blueberry looking thing towards him.

"You want me to give this to Hedwig?" Harry asked.

The look he received was one of waning patience.

"Okay, okay," Harry scooped up the berry and turned back to his familiar. "Here Hedwig, this will make you feel better." _I hope_ , he added internally.

To Harry's surprise, Hedwig was able to eat the berry in one gulp. Harry felt a sudden rush through the bond as Hedwig's labored breathing became more steady. Before he knew it, she was standing on her own two feet, gingerly checking out her own wings for any damage.

' _We need to get out of here, now._ '

"Right," Harry replied automatically. "C'mon Hedwig, back to Pokécoin form. I know you don't like to but it will be safer for you."

The Pokémon in question puffed out her chest feathers in indignation, before almost immediately relenting. A red beam replaced her and flew towards his hand. A second later, Hedwig's Pokécoin was clutched in his fist.

"Okay, let's go," Harry turned back to his rescuer.

The large cat nodded before leaping away. Harry did his best to keep up with the four legged Pokémon, but he just wasn't as nimble. Fortunately, every once in awhile the cat Pokémon would stop and wait for him to catch up. Though he never got a chance to catch his breath because as soon as got close, the cat would leap off again.

On the seventh time the Pokémon waited on him, it stayed put when he caught up. Harry leaned against a tree in exhaustion. The Pokémon must have deemed it safe for them to stop here.

"That was brutal," he heaved out.

' _Better than being attacked by that half dead monstrosity._ '

"True, it's just tha-" Harry stiffened as he turned to stare at the Pokémon. He realized that there was nothing else in the clearing. "Did you just speak?"

' _In a manner of speaking._ ' The feminine voice seemed amused now.

"Telepathy," Harry realized, "You're using telepathy to speak with me."

' _Yes._ '

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. Was there no limit to what Pokémon could do? It was no wonder that he felt more comfortable with Hedwig than he did his wand.

"Thank you," Harry opened his eyes. "For rescuing us back there."

' _I'm sorry I wasn't quick enough to prevent your friend from getting hurt,_ ' the cat Pokémon hung her head in what appeared to be shame. ' _It took longer than I expected to power up that move._ '

"It's okay," Harry knelt down and laid a hand on her head, being careful to avoid the sharp looking horn. "Without you, I would be a goner. And then who knows what would have become of Hedwig. So thank you, for saving me and giving me that berry thing for Hedwig."

The cat like Pokémon looked up at him and stared into his eyes for a moment, as if judging his sincerity. Eventually she nodded in acceptance of his thanks.

' _It was an Oran Berry. But sadly, it was the last of my stock,_ ' she said finally as she leaned into his hand now.

"That's alright," Harry started to scratch the Pokémon now, just like he would a cat. "Madam Pomfrey and Mimi can heal her back to one hundred percent in no time." Harry suddenly turned a bit sheepish. "Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I am Harry, and you've met Hedwig. Do you mind me asking you what kind of Pokémon you are? And your name if you have one?" He would have asked to scan her, but Professor McGonagall had ordered them to leave the devices behind.

' _Hello Harry. My species name is Absol,_ ' her sudden stiffening did not go unnoticed by Harry. ' _My kind are known as the Disaster Pokémon._ '

Harry scoffed at that, the Absol in front of him seemed surprised by his reaction. "Disaster Pokémon? If you ask me, you're more like the… Guardian Pokémon."

' _Guardian?_ ' The Absol asked slowly.

"Yeah," Harry nodded as he sat cross-legged against the nearby tree. "You saved me and Hedwig from that thing didn't you? That hardly qualifies as a disaster. I think guardian fits better."

' _The Guardian Pokémon,_ ' she repeated slowly. ' _I like it!_ ' The Absol was practically purring in delight now.

"I just wish I knew what you had to save us from," Harry leaned his head back against the tree.

' _I've been hanging near the Centaurs for a while now. They seem to think some past evil is rising again. Whatever that thing was… it was certainly evil._ ' The Absol shivered in revulsion. ' _It must be what they have been seeing in their star gazings._ '

"Why kill Unicorns though?"Harry asked as he continued to stare skywards, even if he couldn't see the sky through the trees. "It can't be easy to catch one, let alone kill it. So why bother?"

' _I do not know, Harry._ ' She settled into a sitting position directly in front of him in the intervening silence. ' _Would you take me as your Pokémon?_ ' She asked suddenly.

Harry's head snapped down to stare at the Absol sitting mere inches away. "You want me to be your Trainer?"

' _Yes,_ ' she answered simply.

"Why? Why would you choose me?"

' _Many reasons… You are kind, honest, and you obviously care about your Pokémon judging by your reaction earlier... and you are not afraid of me._ ' The last was barely heard, but Harry had caught it.

"Are people really that stupid?" Harry asked incredulously about the last part, "I don't understand how someone could be afraid of such a beautiful creature like you, all because of a stupid nickname."

The Absol just continued to sit there, waiting for his decision. Apparently she had said all that she was going to on the matter. Through his bond with Hedwig, he already knew that she approved. So it was all up to him.

"Absolutely you can join me and Hedwig," Harry grinned at his own joke. Absol, however, did not appear to be amused. That is, until what he said registered with the cat like Pokémon.

' _Really? You agree to be my Trainer?_ ' she asked in amazement.

"Sure," Harry said with a half smile. "I like you, and besides… you did save me from that thing. The least I can do is to return the favor by bonding with you so I can help you become stronger."

' _Thank you,_ ' she said as she lowered her head in a bow. Then she looked up and stared into his eyes with her own almond shaped red eyes. Harry felt the beginnings of a bond snap into place. Now all he had to do was accept it.

"I, Harry James Potter, accept this Absol as my Pokémon familiar. Together we shall guard our loved ones from those that would do them harm. So Mote It Be." Harry shivered as the magic washed over him. It really was an unpleasant feeling. He had hoped that it had been uncomfortable with Hedwig simply because he had never used his magic before. Apparently, he had misplaced his hope.

Absol was standing now and shaking her head. ' _That was… interesting._ '

Before Harry could respond he heard a crashing noise from above.

"Drudigon!" Came the roar of Norberta as she landed in the small cleared away they were in.

"Hi Norberta," Harry said calmly as he stood. "Are the others okay?" He asked as he moved to pet the rough skin of the Dragon Type Pokémon.

"Harry?"

"Harry, where are you?"

"I think Norberta landed just over there."

"Let's hurry, I don't want to be too far away from her."

Harry recognized the yelling as the voices of Susan, Daphne, Hagrid and Ron.

"I'm over here!" He shouted out in the direction their voices had came from. "You're never going to believe what happened!"

0o00o0


	7. Chapter 7 - Tales and Tails

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own either Pokémon or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in the sandbox that they left open._

Chapter 7 - Tales and Tails

0o00o0

 **Black Lake, Hogwarts Grounds - May 27, 1992**

"So let me get this straight," Neville broke into the silence that had befallen the group, "Daphne was with Hagrid and Susan all night and nothing interesting happened. While Harry was teamed up with Ron and Fang. They stumble across some bloke dressed in black hunched over a dead Unicorn. Ron and Fang are scared witless and flee, while Harry here decides to become a statue. Hedwig gets knocked out. But Harry's odd luck kicks in and he is saved by Absol. Then after that, this Absol decides to become Harry's familiar?"

"You forgot the spider incident and the running," Harry added. When everyone stared at him he raised his hands in defense, "Hey! There was a lot of running! It's not something I can easily forget."

"Maybe you should start running everyday," Daphne said flatly. Harry, Neville, and Hermione could see the corners of her lips twitch upwards slightly into a smile though. After a second all four burst out laughing.

This felt like heaven to Harry, especially when compared to the hell that the previous night was. Laughing with friends was a luxury that Harry would never take for granted. Classes had ended for the day and instead of studying like they normally would be Harry had drug his friends outside to talk about the previous night's detention. Daphne had asked if they could talk near the lake so she could let Scylla out.

The blue Horsea was currently in the shallows squirting bubbles at Hermione's Eevee familiar. Of all their familiars, Scylla and Lola were the most playful. This had been cause for laughter many times as their Trainers were very serious most of the time. Harry had theorized that Fate and Arceus had chosen the two playful Pokémon to help Daphne and Hermione loosen up. There was more to life than pureblood politics and book studies after all.

While everyone was recovering from the much needed laugh, Harry looked around to see where the other familiars had gotten to. Hedwig was sitting on a branch just above him. She had barely let him out of her sight since she had been healed by Mimi, Pomfrey's Chansey. Trev, the Lazy Larvitar as dubbed by his own Trainer, was curled up on top of a boulder absorbing the sun's rays. The newest addition to the group, Absol, was laying next to Harry with her paws crossed in front of her.

"Not to bring down the mood or anything," Hermione roused Harry from his musings, "but should we discuss what it was that killed the Unicorn and attacked Harry?" Everyone sat in silence as they contemplated their own theories.

"You said Absol mentioned something about a 'past evil', is that right?" Daphne asked eventually.

' _Yes, I did,_ ' Absol answered Daphne herself. Harry had found it amusing the first time she had talked to everyone. With the wonders of magic all around them on a daily basis though the group had adjusted to the telepathic Pokémon rather quickly. ' _The centaurs have been discussing it for months now. There are a few that want to warn the Headmaster, but the majority are against interfering in the affairs of man._ '

"They weren't more specific than that? It would sure help to know _what_ this so called past evil was," Hermione huffed.

' _No, they were not_ ,' Absol grumbled. Harry found it amusing that a telepathic voice could actually grumble like that. ' _I only found out that much by luck. Firenze was risking his life to share this with me. He was hoping I would deliver the message to Headmaster in his stead._ '

"We should do that right away," Hermione said as she made to stand, but Harry grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Hold on Hermione," Harry said as he gently pulled the brown haired witch back down into a sitting position. "I've been thinking about this all day and there is something bothering me about this whole thing. I just can't put my finger on it… tell me, why would someone want to drink Unicorn's blood?"

Hermione blinked at the change of topics. "Well…" Hermione switched to lecture mood instantly, "Various parts of a Unicorn are used in potions and wand crafting. Unicorn Blood specifically is a highly regulated substance by the ICW. It is not outright banned because it is the main ingredient in the Elixir of Life potion used in many wizarding hospitals. If consumed in its pure form, the drinker will gain similar benefits as the Elixir of Life, but will also be cursed. How exactly the person is cursed is not known because there have only been a handful of documented cases in all of history." When she finished she noticed everyone was smiling at her, causing her cheeks to turn red. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"Yes," Harry answered as he patted her hand that he was still holding. "But it's okay because your lecture answered a couple questions I was going to look up later. All I knew was that it was the main ingredient for the Elixir of Life. So you saved me a trip to the library."

Hermione's blush deepened at the praise. She refused to think about the hand that was still holding hers.

"So whoever or whatever attacked you last night," Neville said, "was probably on the verge of death and needed the blood to survive."

"I agree Neville," Daphne broke her silence, "and whatever it was has done it before. When Susan and I were with Hagrid last night he said he found the first dead one back in September. After that, he found another dead every few months until recently. The number of attacks have been increasing to weekly occurrences for the past month."

"That's… that's a lot of Unicorn blood," Hermione whispered in horror.

"It's getting desperate then," Harry concluded.

"Guys, I think we really need to warn somebody about this like Absol and Hermione said," Neville paled. "Think about what else is here, at Hogwarts, that can stop you from dying… even grant eternal life."

The other three stared at him in confusion, though as predictable it was Hermione who figured out what he meant first.

"The STONE!" Hermione gasped out loud, "If this past evil is so desperate it will go after Flamel's Stone eventually."

Harry and Daphne both paled as well. It would not be good for anything described as 'evil' to get their hands on something that granted eternal life.

"But… surely the Headmaster is aware of that possibility," Daphne whispered. "I mean, he supposedly has all those things guarding it."

"Well, thanks to the twins," Neville replied, "we know that after Fluffy is a room filled with Devil's Snare, which is easily dealt with by using fire. After that is a room filled with flying keys. They say you have to find and catch the right one."

"They've tried to get me to go with them to do that," Harry said absently. "They seem to think it was made for a Seeker to be able to do."

"I doubt there is anything harder than that either," Neville continued. "According to the twins, the wards on the doors are basic, but very robust. Someone with enough power could easily bypass the obstacles and just take down the wards."

Hermione stood at this point, "Come on guys. We should go tell someone all this." Hermione looked like she was afraid the monster from last night would pop up suddenly and attack them in the middle of the day light.

Harry sighed and shook his head, "Okay, but I don't know what good it will do." Harry stood and was followed by Daphne and Neville. "Come on Absol, you might as well be with us when we tell our story."

They didn't set off right away since Daphne and Neville had to recall their Pokémon. Hermione and Harry left their familiars out because the Pokémon could keep up with their Trainers on foot (or in the air in Hedwig's case). Hermione was bouncing on the balls of her feet by time they were all set to go. The four took off towards the castle, determined to talk to the first professor they found.

0o0o0

A search of the Great Hall and First Floor Teacher Lounge turned up no one. The four friends then had a quick discussion and settled on looking for Professor McGonagall. Not only would she be the most likely professor to take them seriously, but she would also be in a position to do something about it. A few minutes later found them knocking on the door to her office.

"Enter," came the voice of one of their strictest professors from the other side of the door.

Harry opened the door and ushered the other three in, as well as Hedwig, Lola, and Absol. Once everyone was in he shut the door and looked up to see Professor McGonagall's eyebrow quirked at them. Apparently she hadn't been expecting four first years to walk in.

"What can I help the four of you with?" She asked as she folded her hands on her desk.

Before anyone could respond Lola, cried out in excitement as she bounded over to Professor McGonagall's recently bonded familiar. Caius, the Persian, was currently curled up in his bed near the fireplace. Lola came to a halt right in front of the Classy Cat Pokémon.

"Eevee eev eevee eev eev eevee," the Evolution Pokémon started chattering away as she literally bounced up and down in place. Caius opened one eye to look at the excited little Pokémon.

"Perrrrr-sian," he purred softly before closing his eye again. Just when it seemed that he was going to steadfastly ignore Lola's over exuberance, his tail suddenly lifted in the air and the tip dangled in front of Lola.

"EEVEE!" Lola exclaimed as she tried to catch the tail but failed.

Harry and Neville were not even trying to suppress their laughter as the game continued. Even Daphne allowed a smile to grace her lips. Hermione, however, sighed and shook her head as she turned to face the Transfiguration Professor.

"I'm sorry about Lola, Professor," she stated to her favorite teacher, "I thought she would have gotten this out of her system after last time… I guess if anything it only got worse."

"It is quite alright Miss Granger," there was the smallest quirk of her lips as she watched her familiar play keep away with his tail, "She is still young, so let her play as long as Caius allows it."

"Y-yes, Professor," Hermione stammered in surprise. She had expected the prim and proper Professor to reprimand her for not being able to control her Pokémon. This was the second time in a week that Lola had done this after all.

"Now then," McGonagall turned to face the four first years, "what brings you four to my office in such a panic. When you first came in I thought you had seen the bogeyman judging by the looks on your faces."

"I think Harry might have, in a way," Hermione said before diving into their story. She told the Professor what Harry had seen last night, Absol's warning from the Centaurs, and their suspicions about the Stone. She didn't mention knowing about Fluffy and the first two rooms after him. That would lead to questions no one felt like answering. Admitting they knew that the Philosopher's Stone was in Hogwarts seemed like pushing their luck already.

"Just to make sure I understand," Mcgonagall said after a moment of silence. "Mr. Potter here saw someone or something drinking Unicorn's Blood last night from a freshly killed Unicorn, which you failed to mention to me when I picked you up from Hagrid's." Harry had enough sense to look a bit ashamed at that. "The Centaurs are concerned about some Past Evil but don't have anything more specific than that to say. And the four of you are concerned that this is connected to a certain Stone that is currently here in the Castle."

Harry, Hermione, and Neville nodded while Daphne remained motionless. All four of them remained silent, awaiting the Professor's judgement of their assessment of the situation.

"I think I will ignore how you four found out about the Philosopher's Stone. I am very found of our current Keeper of Keys, not to mention I don't want the hassle of searching for a new one." The four first years breathed out a sigh of relief, "As for the rest of your story… I find it hard to ignore the conclusions you have come to. I for one don't believe in coincidences."

The four started smiling, but Professor McGonagall's next statement stopped them from celebrating that an adult believed them.

"However," she continued, "I assure you the Stone is well protected. I, along with several others, have ensured of that. Not to mention the Headmaster himself has added his own measures. It cannot be any more protected even if it were in Gringotts."

"But Professor," Harry spoke up for the first time, "there must be something more that can be done to protect it."

"Hmm," the Deputy Headmistress hummed as she eyed the four first years in front of her. After a long moment she realized they were not going to back down. Whatever Mr. Potter had seen the previous night during his detention (the detention she had assigned him she reminded herself) must have really had an impact on the young lad. "If you feel so strongly about this Mr. Potter… I will bring it up with the Headmaster and let him make a decision on how to proceed.

"But Prof-" Harry was cut off by Hermione before he could finish.

"Thank you Professor," she said hurriedly, "That's all we ask."

0o0o0

Minerva rubbed her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. Her four favorite first years had just left her office. Of course, she would never admit to having favorites. Severus would never let her live it down if he ever found out that not only did she have favorites but at least one of them was one of his Snakes. It was humiliating enough that for the past several years she had lost their annual bet of who would win the House Cup. She didn't need him holding this over her as well.

"Perrr-sian," Caius purred from his bed.

"You're right," Minerva grumbled as she opened her eyes. "I am getting off track. I really don't want to talk Albus about this again."

Minerva had promised her favorite students that she would talk to the Headmaster about their concerns. Sadly, it wouldn't be the first time she talked to Albus about that infernal Stone. Why he insisted on keeping it here in the castle was beyond her. This was a school, not a security vault! Then there was the question of why Flamel had even gone along with this. Surely the stone would be just as safe, if not safer, with its creator than here.

However, it irked Minerva to admit that over the years Albus had benn proven right more often than not. In fact she couldn't think of a time when he had been wrong. That was the only reason why she hadn't put her foot down about keeping the Stone here. Even though she respected him and his decision, that didn't mean she couldn't voice her opinion on the matter.

"Now that I know there are students that know the Stone is here, maybe I can make him see reason," she said with little conviction as she stood.

"Persian?" Caius raised his head for the first time since he laid down that evening.

"No, I don't think he will change his mind," she replied as she bent down to pat his head. "But maybe he will add some more security to the area. That's probably the best I can hope for."

"Perr," Caius purred as he leaned into her hand.

"I had better get this over with," she straightened after grabbing a pinch of floo powder. The flames turned green as she tossed the powder into the fireplace and stated the Headmaster's office as her destination. "I'm getting too old for this," she sighed as she stepped into the fireplace.

0o0o0

"Nothing's going to change is it?" Hermione said suddenly.

Harry looked up from his History of Magic essay and blinked at the brown haired witch. Neville, Hermione, and Harry were currently in the Gryffindor common room. The trio had claimed a table in an out of the way corner to finish up their homework.

"I doubt it," Neville answered without looking up from his History of Magic book. "The Goblins are too proud of a race and the current Wizengamot is too full of conservative Purebloods for any progress to be made."

"What?" Hermione looked at Neville like he was crazy, then she seemed to realize that they weren't privy to her thoughts. "I wasn't talking about our homework."

"That's gotta be a first," Harry said with a grin. Neville looked up at this point intrigued by this turn of conversation.

"Shush you," Hermione glared at the raven haired boy. Her smile took all the heat out of the look though. "I was talking about the protections around you know what."

"Not to repeat Neville's first answer, but… I doubt it," Harry set his quill down. "Professor McGonagall seemed to believe that it was protected enough as it is."

"Maybe we should have told her that we know what the first three rooms are," Neville suggested.

"I don't think even she would overlook how we came about that knowledge," Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want to get the Twins in do that enough on their own."

"There has to be something else we can do," Hermione said thoughtfully. "What if we talked to the Headmaster directly?"

"I don't think that will help," Harry leaned back in his chair. "The adults think they have everything under control. Why would they listen to a bunch of kids?"

"What if we kept an eye on the door?" Neville asked.

"We can't watch it all the time," Hermione pointed out. "We have classes to attend and that's not even mentioning curfew."

"We have my dad's cloak so curfew isn't an issue," Harry reminded her.

"Even then," Hermione went on doubtfully, "there is only three of us. There's no way we can work out a schedule that will keep people from being suspicious."

"I'm sure Daphne would help," Harry stated confidently. "I bet Susan and Hannah would help as well. Then there's Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Katie, and Cho." Harry blinked after listing off their other friends. He turned to Neville with wide eyes, "I just realized… You're the only other guy in our group of friends, mate."

Neville laughed at this, "Took you long enough to notice, Harry."

"Well… I suppose there is another, but he can never be seen with us… for now," Harry was still shocked at this realization.

"Even if we trusted that many people with this information," Hermione tried to get them back on track. "I still don't think it will work. Anyone going after… it… would likely check the entire area for other people. Your cloak is good Harry, but it doesn't hide you from detection spells like that."

' _Maybe you can use us,_ ' Absol's voice spoke directly into their heads.

Harry looked down at his side and saw the Guardian Pokémon staring up at him.

"What do you mean Absol?" Harry asked for the trio.

' _I mean, you could use your familiars to spy on this corridor,_ ' Absol clarified. ' _From what I understand, there aren't any spells that can detect Pokémon yet. We also have the advantage of not worrying about classes or curfews._ '

"That," Hermione said slowly into the silence that had befallen the group, "that could work. Even if one of them are seen, they would be dismissed as irrelevant by almost anyone willing to go after… the thing. We would just need to make sure to come up with a schedule that is random enough that anyone paying attention to the corridor won't suspect that our Pokémon are watching it as well."

"Not all our friends have Pokémon though," Harry inserted when Hermione paused to take a breath.

"But enough do," Hermione waved the concern off. "Scylla couldn't help of course. But Susan has Marie and Hannah has Tryf. A Ledyba and an Oddish shouldn't be that suspicious. So that's six Pokémon we can use on a rotation…" she trailed off as she began coming up with a plan.

Harry and Neville turned to each other with matching smiles. They both knew the look that Hermione was now wearing. By time they went to bed she would have came up with a color coded schedule for the remainder of the year.

"So while Hermione is lost to us," Neville began, "I've been meaning to ask you what you are going to name Absol."

Harry tilted his head in thought at the question, "With everything going on the past 24 hours I hadn't given it much thought." He turned to his newest familiar, "Do you have any preferences? It is your name after all."

Absol tilted her head in the same manner as her trainer as she thought about the question. After a few moments she seemed to shrug as she replied, ' _Now that you ask… I would prefer not to go on being called Absol. Other than that, I will leave it up to you._ '

"Are you sure?" Harry asked. When he was met with silence he figured it was the same as last night, she was determined to leave the final decision up to him. Harry closed his eyes and thought for a bit. It wasn't long before his eyes snapped back open and he was grinning.

"Angel," Harry said as he looked back down her, "Because you saved me last night, just like a Guardian Angel."

Harry started to get nervous when Absol continued to stare at him without responding. "You don't like it? Well there is also-" He cut off when a paw landed on his leg.

' _It's perfect Harry,_ ' the newly dubbed Angel said with a quiver in her telepathic voice. ' _I would be honored to be named Angel._ '

"Angel it is then," Harry laid a hand on the paw on his lap. Hedwig swooped down out of nowhere and landed on top of his hand as well.

"Pidg!"

"Hedwig likes it as well," Harry said with a smile.

"Well then," Neville said from the other side of the table, "Welcome to Gryffindor, Angel!"

0o0o0

 **Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts - June 4, 1992**

"You really need to fly there? On a broom?"

"Yes," Albus responded from behind his steepled hands. "They require me at the Ministry to review a new Law about Dark Artifacts. Lord Malfoy and his alliance seem to think it creates some loophole about being able to search any Pureblood's home. He was… not very polite when he requested my presence. So I figure he can wait while an old man indulges in a bit of nostalgia." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling like mad by time he finished.

Minerva stared at the Headmaster in disbelief, while the man next to her seemed to silently contemplate the matter.

"I trust that the Deputy Headmistress and my Chief of Defense can handle things while I am away?" Albus asked the two people standing before him.

"Of course we can," Minerva replied, "I just don't understand why you can't just wait and Floo to the Ministry late."

"Ah," Albus smiled now, "While that would accomplish the same goal, it would not be nearly as much fun for me."

This earned him an eyeroll from the Scot. But she remained silent, apparently Minerva had decided not to pursue the topic any longer.

"Any other questions Minerva?" Albus asked while still smiling. When she shook her head he turned to the second person in the room. "What about you? You have been awful quiet on the matter."

"J- just one q- question, Headma- master," Professor Quirrell responded after a moment. "H- how long w- will you be go- gone?"

Albus forced himself not to flinch at the stammering Professor. The man may be intelligent, but it was hard to listen to him speak. "I am unsure," he answered after making sure the Defense Professor was done. "I imagine Lord Malfoy will drag the affair late into the night to retaliate against my tardiness."

"You are qu- quite co- correct I am s- sure," the man said as he bowed his head.

After making sure a few details were clarified the two Professors finally left Albus's office. The two continued to talk about what needed to be covered during the Headmaster's absence as they walked away.

"With the way those two are carrying on you would think this was the first time I've ever left the grounds," Albus shook his head after they had left.

' _It is the first time you have made yourself deliberately unreachable_ ,' Sylvia the Slowking said as she stepped forward from her position at the back of the office.

"It is the only way to make sure I am not disturbed," Albus responded to his female familiar.

' _So you still insist on going through with your plan?_ ' Zephyr the Xatu asked from his motionless vigil behind Dumbledore's position.

"Yes," Albus sighed. "We have been through this before… I need to ensure no one has been meddling in Harry's affairs. It's taken me over five months to clear enough time to visit the Dursley's residence."

' _Three jobs is too much for one old man_ ,' Zephyr snarked.

' _Allow me to Teleport you there,_ ' Sylvia interjected to save her fellow Pokémon, ' _It will be quicker and undetectable if anyone were to be monitoring the area. Plus I don't have to leave the Hogwarts Wards thanks to our bond._ '

"Mmm," Dumbledore contemplated as he popped a Lemon Drop into his mouth, after ensuring it was indeed a Lemon Drop. "That will be acceptable… Thank you Sylvia."

Albus stood with a flourish and walked around the desk to the Royal Pokémon. A moment later the two have vanished into thin air.

' _Now I need to make sure the four Guardians are aware of the current situation,_ ' Zephyr thought to himself before stretching out his senses to search for the four Pokémon in question.

0o0o0

 **Gryffindor Common Room - June 4, 1992**

"Guys!" Neville yelled as he rushed up to Harry and Hermione who were reading on the couch. Their finals had just ended that day so the duo were enjoying their late evening by doing some leisure reading. Being a first year had its advantages. While the rest of the school was worried about their upcoming finals, the first years were able to take the final month easy. Somehow, even though it was just after curfew they were the only ones in the common room currently.

Neville had to snap his fingers in front of both their faces to get their attention. "Guys! You won't believe what I just heard McGonagall and Quirrell discussing!"

"What is it Neville?" Harry asked noticing the panic on his friends face finally. "Did they find out about our watch over you know what?"

"No," Neville shook his head, "I was asking McGonagall something about the final we had today. As I was leaving Professor Quirrell came in. Normally I would have tried to leave as quick as possible since it was almost curfew, but as I was closing the door I heard Quirrell ask McGonagall something that made me freeze."

"What was it Neville?" Hermione asked with a hint of disapproval in her voice. She didn't think it was very polite to eavesdrop on a couple Professors, but not so much that she didn't want to know what he had heard.

"Quirrell asked who they would contact in case of an emergency while Headmaster Dumbledore was unreachable for the evening," Neville looked at them expectantly. When neither seemed to understand he added, "Don't you get it? The Headmaster is gone for the rest of night…" This time it was Harry who picked up where Neville was going with this.

"Which means," Harry said quietly, "whoever is going after the Stone will try tonight."

"But the protections are still there," Hermione argued half heartedly, "They should still be enough, right?"

"If I were trying to steal the Stone… I would do it when the most powerful wizard since Merlin wasn't around," Harry countered. "It will happen tonight. Which Pokémon is on watch tonight?"

"Trev is," Neville answered immediately.

"Good, he should be able to at least slow down whoever tries to enter Fluffy's room," Harry said with a nod as he pulled out his Pokédex. "Daphne," he said to call up the blonde Slytherin. "Hey Daph, no time to explain. We think our Mystery Person will make his move tonight."

"Okay," Daphne answered with a nod. "I'll meet you there." The mirror screen went black as she hung up on him.

"Hedwig," Harry looked up to the top of a nearby bookshelf where his first familiar was perched, "Go on ahead and help Trev if you can. But don't put yourself in danger." Harry didn't want to make the same mistake he did with the troll by not sending her on ahead of him.

"Pidgey," she agreed before taking flight. A moment later she vanished out an open window.

"Alright, let's go guys," Harry said as he stood.

"Where are you going?"

Harry groaned out loud at the sound of the voice. He really didn't want to deal with this right now. "No where Ron," Harry answered as he turned to face the redhead.

"Right," Ron said unconvinced, "That explains why you guys are in a hurry and you just sent Hedwig off… not to mention the Snake saying she would meet you somewhere."

"That _Snake_ has a name," Harry growled out.

"Now's not the time for this Harry," Hermione said as she tugged on his arm. "We need to hurry."

"I'm coming too," Ron said. "This has to do with what we saw in the Forbidden Forest, right? I want to help."

Harry blinked in surprise, his anger for Daphne's sake dulled by the redhead's conviction to help. "Really? When you saw the thing in the woods you ran off screaming like a little girl."

"Yeah, well…" Ron shifted his weight uncomfortably, "I need to prove to myself that I am a Gryffindor. How can I call myself a Lion after that, eh?"

Harry stared at him for a moment indecisiveness evident on his face. Ron may be wanting to join them for the wrong reasons, but he was technically already involved. Plus he had been eavesdropping on their conversation, and Harry wasn't sure what all Ron had heard already. Apparently he had stretched Hermione's patience a little too thin because she drew her wand and pointed it at the youngest male Weasley.

"For goodness sakes Harry! Either I put him in a full body bind, or he goes with us," she said to Harry. "Either way decide now."

"Fine he can come," Harry relented. "But if he slows us down in any way you have my permission to put him in that full body bind." He turned to his second familiar, "Alright Angel, we need you to make sure the corridors are clear in front of us as we go."

' _Will do,_ ' she responded so all four could hear her. Angel then leaped over to the Portrait Hole and nudged it open to peer outside. ' _All clear here. I will go on ahead,_ ' she projected to the four of them.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Neville said from halfway to the Gryffindor Entrance. He was tired of waiting so he had already started moving on.

"Hermione, fill Ron in on the way. He deserves to know what he is getting himself into," Harry said as they all started running for the door.

 _I just hope we aren't too late_ , he thought to himself.

0o00o0

 _AN: Apparently the choice of Absol for Harry's second Pokémon was well received by everyone. I think it fits… Though changing the classification of Absol from Disaster to Guardian came from Draynuy while we were discussing this story last month. So while that wasn't my idea, I loved it enough to incorporate into the story. I tip my hat to the wonderful Draynuy for that._

 _As always, thanks for reading!_


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